Mental Health Amendment Bill 2016

Introduced: 30/11/2016By: Hon C R Dick MPStatus: PASSED with amendment

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Plain English Summary

Overview

This bill makes technical and protective amendments to the Mental Health Act 2016 before it starts on 5 March 2017. The key change stops statements made by a person during a court-ordered mental health assessment or examination from being used against them in civil or criminal proceedings, so patients can be frank with clinicians. The bill also tightens limits on detention, seclusion and restraint, fixes gaps affecting private mental health services, and makes small changes to the Public Health Act 2005 and Coroners Act 2003.

Who it affects

People facing criminal charges who are being assessed for mental illness gain the strongest protections, along with patients in mental health services generally. Paramedics, police, magistrates and private mental health services also get clearer rules for their roles.

Key changes

Statements made during a mental health assessment or examination cannot be used as evidence against you in civil or criminal proceedings
Detention for examination outside a mental health service is capped at one hour; inside a service it is up to six hours, extendable to 12
Only actual (not authorised-but-unused) periods of seclusion or mechanical restraint count towards the 9-hour daily limit
The Mental Health Review Tribunal can dismiss frivolous or vexatious appeals without a hearing
Private authorised mental health services are brought into line with public ones on delegations and staff powers
Ambulance officers are expressly recognised as 'authorised persons' for transporting people under emergency examination authorities

How this affects you

Health

•You can speak frankly to a doctor during a court-ordered mental health assessment without fear that what you say will be used against you in courtClause 15 (new s 180A)Statements made during an examination under an examination order, or during an assessment to help a Magistrates Court, are not admissible in evidence against the person in any civil or criminal proceeding.
•There are firmer limits on how long you can be detained for a mental health examination — up to one hour in a community setting and up to six hours (extendable to 12) in a mental health serviceClause 3 (s 32)Caps detention for examination at one hour outside an AMHS or PSHSF, and six hours (extendable to 12) inside one.
•Only the actual time you spend in seclusion or mechanical restraint counts towards the 9-hour daily limit, so unused authorisations no longer eat into that capClauses 21 and 22 (ss 250, 258)
•Patients in private mental health facilities get the same protections and delegated care arrangements as patients in public facilitiesClause 26 (s 337) and Clause 51 (sch 3)Administrators of private AMHSs gain the same power to delegate functions to appropriately qualified employees that public AMHS administrators already have.

Justice & Rights

•If you're charged with an offence and undergo a mental health assessment, the doctor's report can only be used to decide whether another examination or a Mental Health Court referral is needed — not as trial evidence against youClause 15 (new s 180)Examination reports are admissible at trial only to decide whether to make another examination order or to refer the matter to the Mental Health Court.
•The Mental Health Review Tribunal can throw out frivolous or vexatious appeals without holding a hearingClause 42 (new s 534A)
•Magistrates, District Court and Supreme Court forms under the Mental Health Act can now be approved by the courts' Rules Committee, making court processes more consistentClause 50 (s 798)
•People charged with a serious offence who become temporarily unfit for trial cannot be transferred interstate — unless their criminal proceeding has already been discontinuedClause 41 (s 522)

Bill Journey

Introduced30 Nov 2016View Hansard

First Reading30 Nov 2016View Hansard

▸Committee30 Nov 2016View Hansard

Referred to Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee

Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee (formerly the Health and Ambulance Services Committee)portfolio

Committee Inquiry

Report No. 34, 55th Parliament – Mental Health Amendment Bill 2016(bill)

Committee Findings

The Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee examined the Mental Health Amendment Bill 2016, which sought to protect people undergoing mental health assessments from self-incrimination and to make technical amendments ahead of the Mental Health Act 2016 commencing. The committee received submissions from organisations including Legal Aid Queensland, the Australian Medical Association Queensland, and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, and held a public hearing. Government members supported passage, but the committee was unable to reach a majority decision on whether the bill should be passed.

Key findings (4)

The bill aimed to provide a framework protecting people undergoing mental health assessments and examinations from the risk of self-incrimination
The committee examined the admissibility of statements made during mental health examinations and assessment reports in criminal proceedings
Concerns were raised about the availability of qualified mental health practitioners in regional and remote areas to conduct examinations within the six-hour detention period
The committee compared Queensland's proposed approach to the admissibility of mental health examination reports with other Australian jurisdictions

Dissenting views: Non-government members (Mark McArdle, Mark Robinson, and Sid Cramp) filed a Statement of Reservation, noting the committee could not reach a majority decision. They raised concerns about the availability of qualified practitioners in regional and remote areas to conduct examinations within the six-hour detention window, and questioned the evidence base for restricting the admissibility of examination reports in criminal proceedings.

AI-generated summary — may contain errors

Committee Report21 Feb 2017

Committee report tabled

Second Reading

In Detail

Third Reading

Royal Assent3 Mar 2017

Referenced Entities

Sectors Affected

Disability Services Hospitals Mental Health Courts Criminal Law

Classified using AGIFT/ANZSIC Australian government standards

Mental Health Amendment Bill 2016

Plain English Summary

Overview

Who it affects

Key changes

Bill Journey

Referenced Entities

Legislation

Organisations

Programs & Schemes

Roles & Offices

Sectors Affected

Source Documents