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TASMANIA
__________
MENTAL HEALTH AMENDMENT BILL 2005
__________
CONTENTS
1. Short title
2. Commencement
3. Principal Act
4. Section 3 amended (Interpretation)
5. Section 15 amended (Power to take person into protective
custody)
6. Section 17 amended (Admission of patients)
7. Section 28 amended (Continuing care order)
8. Section 30 amended (Rectification of orders, &c.)
9. Section 39 amended (Transfer of involuntary patient)
10. Section 43 substituted
43. Requirements of patient under community treatment
order
11. Section 44 amended (Term and renewal of community treatment
order)
12. Part 7, Division 3 inserted
Division 3 Authorisation for temporary admission as
involuntary patient under community treatment
order
44A. Authorisation for temporary admission as
involuntary patient under community treatment order
44B. Effect of authorisation for temporary admission
44C. End of authorisation for temporary admission
[Bill 15]-X
13. Section 45 amended (Involuntary patients to be given statement
of their legal rights)
14. Section 52 amended (Reviews of continuing care orders,
community treatment orders and authorisations for temporary
admission)
15. Section 53 amended (Applications for review)
16. Section 65 amended (Powers of Tribunal on review)
17. Section 70 amended (Requirement to notify orders, &c., to
Tribunal)
18. Expiry
2
MENTAL HEALTH AMENDMENT BILL 2005
(Brought in by the Minister for Health and Human Services,
the Honourable David Edward Llewellyn)
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the Mental Health Act 1996
Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by
and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and
House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Mental Health
Amendment Act 2005.
2. Commencement
This Act commences on the day on which this
Act receives the Royal Assent.
3. Principal Act
In this Act, the Mental Health Act 1996* is
referred to as the Principal Act.
*No. 31 of 1996
[Bill 15] 3
s. 4 No. Mental Health Amendment 2005
4. Section 3 amended (Interpretation)
Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting the following definition after
the definition of "assessment centre":
"authorisation for temporary
admission" means an
authorisation under section 44A
for the temporary admission as an
involuntary patient to an
approved hospital of a patient to
whom a community treatment
order applies;
(b) by omitting the definition of "involuntary
patient" and substituting the following
definition:
"involuntary patient" means
(a) a person in respect of
whom an order is in force
under this Act; or
(b) a person who is admitted
to an approved hospital on
the authority of an
authorisation for
temporary admission;
4
2005 Mental Health Amendment No. s. 5
5. Section 15 amended (Power to take person into
protective custody)
Section 15 of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting after subsection (3) the following
subsection:
(4) A police officer or an authorised officer
may exercise powers under this section
regardless of whether or not the person
(a) is the subject of an order or an
authorisation for temporary
admission under this Act; or
(b) has applied for a review of any
decision, notice, order or
authorisation for temporary
admission under this Act; or
(c) is the subject of any other process
or proceeding under this Act.
6. Section 17 amended (Admission of patients)
Section 17 of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting paragraph (c) and substituting the
following paragraph:
(c) under an initial order, a continuing care
order or an authorisation for temporary
admission.
7. Section 28 amended (Continuing care order)
Section 28(1)(b) of the Principal Act is amended
as follows:
5
s. 8 No. Mental Health Amendment 2005
(a) by omitting from subparagraph (ii)
"order." and substituting "order; or";
(b) by inserting the following subparagraph
after subparagraph (ii):
(iii) an authorisation for temporary
admission.
8. Section 30 amended (Rectification of orders, &c.)
Section 30 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting "order" first occurring and
substituting "order, an authorisation for
temporary admission";
(b) by inserting "or authorisation" after
"order, the order";
(c) by inserting "or authorisation" after
"defective, the order";
(d) by inserting "or authorisation" after
"which the order".
9. Section 39 amended (Transfer of involuntary
patient)
Section 39(3) of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting "patient" second occurring and
substituting "patient, or an authorisation for
temporary admission of the patient,".
6
2005 Mental Health Amendment No. s. 10
10. Section 43 substituted
Section 43 of the Principal Act is repealed and
the following section is substituted:
43. Requirements of patient under community
treatment order
(1) In this section
"specified" means specified in a
community treatment order.
(2) A community treatment order may
(a) require the patient to take, or
submit to the administration of,
medical treatment as specified or
as decided from time to time by a
specified medical practitioner or a
medical practitioner practising at
a specified treatment centre; or
(b) require the patient to attend as an
outpatient at a specified treatment
centre at specified intervals or as
directed from time to time by a
specified medical practitioner or a
medical practitioner practising at
the specified treatment centre; or
(c) require the patient to comply with
other specified requirements or
requirements made from time to
time by a specified person.
(3) A community treatment order is to
contain a statement that the patient may
be admitted to an approved hospital as an
involuntary patient if the patient fails to
7
s. 11 No. Mental Health Amendment 2005
comply with the requirements of the
order.
(4) If a community treatment order, whether
made before or after the commencement
of this subsection, does not contain a
statement of a kind referred to in
subsection (3), it is taken to contain such
a statement.
11. Section 44 amended (Term and renewal of
community treatment order)
Section 44 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting subsection (3) and
substituting the following subsections:
(3) If the person to whom a
community treatment order
relates is admitted to an approved
hospital as a voluntary patient,
the order is suspended while the
person remains a patient in the
hospital and reactivates on the
discharge of the person from the
hospital unless it has otherwise
ceased to have effect under this
section.
(3A) If the person to whom a
community treatment order
relates is admitted to an approved
hospital as an involuntary patient
otherwise than on an
authorisation for temporary
admission, the order is suspended
8
2005 Mental Health Amendment No. s. 11
while the person remains a
patient in the hospital and
reactivates on the discharge of the
person from the hospital unless it
has otherwise ceased to have
effect under this section.
(3B) If the person to whom a
community treatment order
relates is admitted as an
involuntary patient to an
approved hospital on an
authorisation for temporary
admission, the order is suspended
while the person remains a
patient in the hospital under that
authorisation and reactivates on
the discharge of the person from
the hospital unless it has
otherwise ceased to have effect
under this section.
(3C) While a community treatment
order is suspended it is of no
effect.
(b) by omitting from subsection (4)(d)
"months." and substituting "months; or";
(c) by inserting the following paragraph after
paragraph (d) in subsection (4):
(e) the authorisation for temporary
admission ends under
section 44C(e) because the period
of 14 days referred to in that
section elapses.
9
s. 12 No. Mental Health Amendment 2005
12. Part 7, Division 3 inserted
After section 44 of the Principal Act, the
following Division is inserted in Part 7:
Division 3 Authorisation for temporary admission as
involuntary patient under community treatment order
44A. Authorisation for temporary admission as
involuntary patient under community
treatment order
(1) An approved medical practitioner may
authorise the temporary admission to an
approved hospital as an involuntary
patient of a patient to whom a
community treatment order relates if that
approved medical practitioner and either
an authorised officer, a medical
practitioner or the person responsible for
the patient are both satisfied that
(a) the patient has failed to comply
with the order; and
(b) all reasonable steps have been
taken to obtain the cooperation of
the patient in complying with the
order; and
(c) the health of the patient has
deteriorated, or there is a
significant risk that the health of
the patient will deteriorate,
because of the patient's failure to
comply with the order.
(2) An authorisation for temporary
admission is to
10
2005 Mental Health Amendment No. s. 12
(a) be in writing; and
(b) specify
(i) the name and address of
the patient to whom the
community treatment
order applies; and
(ii) the name and address of
the approved medical
practitioner making the
authorisation; and
(iii) the name and address of
the authorised officer,
medical practitioner or
person responsible who,
along with the approved
medical practitioner
making the authorisation,
must be satisfied of the
matters set out in
subsection (1)(a), (b) and
(c); and
(iv) the name of the approved
hospital to which it is
intended that the patient
be admitted; and
(v) the date and time of the
making of the
authorisation; and
(c) include a statement of each of the
matters set out in
subsection (1)(a), (b) and (c).
11
s. 12 No. Mental Health Amendment 2005
(3) On making an authorisation for
temporary admission, the approved
medical practitioner is to take all
reasonable steps to
(a) inform the patient of the
authorisation; and
(b) provide a copy of the
authorisation to the patient and to
the person responsible for the
patient.
(4) An authorisation for temporary
admission takes effect when it is made.
44B. Effect of authorisation for temporary
admission
(1) If an authorisation for temporary
admission has been made
(a) an authorised officer may take the
patient to whom the authorisation
applies into protective custody
and take him or her as soon as
practicable to an approved
hospital; and
(b) the authorisation is authority for
the controlling authority of an
approved hospital to admit the
patient and detain him or her after
admission for a period not
exceeding 14 days.
(2) In exercising powers under
subsection (1)(a), an authorised officer
12
2005 Mental Health Amendment No. s. 12
(a) may be assisted by any person the
authorised officer considers
appropriate, including a police
officer; and
(b) may use such force as is
reasonably necessary.
44C. End of authorisation for temporary
admission
An authorisation for temporary
admission relating to a patient ends when
the first of the following occurs:
(a) the approved medical practitioner
who made the authorisation
cancels it;
(b) the elapse of the period of 28
days commencing on the day on
which the authorisation is made
unless the patient is admitted to
an approved hospital on the
authority of the authorisation
within that period;
(c) after the patient is admitted to an
approved hospital as an
involuntary patient on the
authority of the authorisation, the
patient is discharged from the
hospital by the medical
practitioner who is in charge of
his or her care and treatment;
(d) after the patient is admitted to an
approved hospital as an
13
s. 13 No. Mental Health Amendment 2005
involuntary patient on the
authority of the authorisation, a
continuing care order is made in
respect of the patient;
(e) the elapse of the period of 14
days commencing on the
admission of the patient to an
approved hospital as an
involuntary patient on the
authority of the authorisation;
(f) the community treatment order to
which the authorisation relates
ceases to have effect under
section 44(4)(a), (b) or (c).
13. Section 45 amended (Involuntary patients to be
given statement of their legal rights)
Section 45 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by inserting in subsection (1) "or an
authorisation for temporary admission"
after "an order";
(b) by inserting in subsection (1) "or
authorisation" after "the order";
(c) by inserting in subsection (2)(e) "or
authorisation for temporary admission"
after "order".
14
2005 Mental Health Amendment No. s. 14
14. Section 52 amended (Reviews of continuing care
orders, community treatment orders and
authorisations for temporary admission)
Section 52(4) of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting after paragraph (b) the following
paragraph:
(ba) an authorisation for temporary
admission; or
15. Section 53 amended (Applications for review)
Section 53 of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
(a) by omitting from subsection (1)
"decision or order" and substituting
"decision, order or authorisation for
temporary admission";
(b) by omitting from subsection (2)
"decision or order" and substituting
"decision, order or authorisation for
temporary admission";
(c) by omitting from subsection (3)(a)
"decisions or orders" and substituting
"decisions, orders or authorisations for
temporary admission".
16. Section 65 amended (Powers of Tribunal on review)
Section 65(1) of the Principal Act is amended as
follows:
15
s. 17 No. Mental Health Amendment 2005
(a) by omitting "decision" first occurring
and substituting "decision, authorisation
for temporary admission";
(b) by omitting from paragraph (a)
"decision" three times occurring and
substituting "decision, authorisation for
temporary admission";
(c) by omitting from paragraph (c)
"decision" and substituting "decision,
authorisation for temporary admission".
17. Section 70 amended (Requirement to notify orders,
&c., to Tribunal)
Section 70(1) of the Principal Act is amended by
inserting "or an authorisation for temporary
admission" after "care order".
18. Expiry
(1) The amendments to the Principal Act effected by
this Act expire 3 years after the day on which
this Act commences (inclusive of that day) and,
on that expiry, the Principal Act has effect as if
this Act had not been enacted.
(2) The amendments to the Principal Act effected by
this Act continue to apply after their expiry
under subsection (1) in relation to an
authorisation for temporary admission that was
in effect immediately before that expiry.
(3) In subsection (2)
16
2005 Mental Health Amendment No. s. 18
"authorisation for temporary admission"
has the same meaning as in the Principal
Act as in force immediately before the
expiry effected by subsection (1).
Government Printer, Tasmania 17