Draft Guidelines on the use of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992
Balance Aotearoa, Changing Minds and Platform Trust welcome the opportunity to provide feedback on behalf of our organisations to the Ministry’s consultation on these significant revisions to the Mental Health Act Guidelines.
The Mental Health Act itself is outdated and not fit for purpose in a society and system focused on wellbeing, recovery and self-determination. We believe the revisions to the Guidelines being made currently should pave the way for the eventual changes we would like to see in the Act. While that major legislative change is underway, these revisions are essential in order to improve the care and support of individuals and whānau subjected to the use of the Act.
The revisions are overdue and much-needed and, therefore, should be implemented with urgency. Despite the tight timeframe over the holiday period, we have invited and received feedback from our networks which have informed this response.
We hope that the Ministry has sought views from a wider range of stakeholders who can contribute to ongoing improvements to the Guidelines.
Our recommended amendments to the proposed draft are outlined in this submission.