The ACT Mental Health Act 2015

Rights of people receiving treatment, care and support under the ACT Mental Health Act 2015

The rights of people receiving treatment, care and support under the ACT Mental Health Act 2015 come from a number of places including:

• The Mental Health Act itself
• ACT Charter of Rights of People who experience mental health issues
• ACT Human Rights Act 2004
• The Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities

The Mental Health Act aims to protect the human rights of people with mental disorder or mental illness. Under the Act’s principles a person with mental disorder or mental illness has:

• the same rights and responsibilities as other members of the community and should
• be supported to exercise those rights and responsibilities without discrimination;
• the right to consent to, refuse or stop treatment, care or support whenever they have the capacity to do so;
• the right to determine their own recovery;
• the right to have their wishes and preferences taken into account in decisions about their treatment, care or support;
• the right to access the best treatment care and support to help their recovery;
• the right to receive services that are sensitive and responsive to their age, gender, culture, language, religion, sexuality, experience of trauma and other life experiences, and which promote their dignity and autonomy;
• the right to receive timely information in a way that they can best understand, that will help them make decisions about their treatment, care or support; and
• the right to communicate in the easiest way possible with others.

Carers and families and the Mental Health Act

The Mental Health Act recognises carers and families. A principle in section 6 states that services provided to a person with a mental disorder or mental illness should –

• facilitate appropriate involvement of close relatives, close friends and carers in treatment, care or support decisions in partnership with medical professionals
• acknowledge the impact of mental disorder and mental illness on the close relatives, close friends and carers of people with a mental disorder or mental illness
• recognise the experience and knowledge of close relatives, close friends and carers about a person’s mental disorder or mental illness; and
• promote inclusive practices in treatment, care or support to engage families and carers in responding to a person’s mental disorder or mental illness

The Act in section 12 defines ‘carer’ as:

“a person is a carer if the person provides personal care, support or assistance to a person who has a mental disorder or mental illness.”

Some specific rights of carers contained in the Mental Health include:

• Receive information about the rights of people under the Act from a mental health professional acting under the Act
• Receive information about an order concerning the person they are caring for
• Receive information about and about their rights as a carer concerning an order
• Have their views about orders being made or ended considered
• Be informed by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) that a hearing is to be held concerning the person they care for
• To make a submission to the ACAT for consideration at the hearing or apply to the ACAT to attend the hearing.