On 8 May 2008 the Minister for Health announced a review of the Mental Health Act 1986 (Vic). In December 2008 a Consultation Paper designed to stimulate discussion and raise key issues was released.
This submission by the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Dignity, Equality, Freedom and Respect: A Human Rights-Based Approach to Mental Health [Word] [PDF], focuses on the aim articulated in the Consultation Paper: ‘that the new Act appropriately protects human rights in light of the Charter and Australia’s international human rights obligations.’ The HRLRC considers that the best way to promote the effective, holistic treatment and care of people with mental illness in Victoria is through a human rights framework.
The MHA is more than 20 years old and reflects an outdated and inappropriate approach to the care and treatment of people with mental illness. The legislation is currently inconsistent with the Government’s human rights obligations and legalises and entrenches unacceptable discrimination against people with mental illness.
The HRLRC has expertise in the content and operation of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 (Vic) and significant experience advocating for the harmonisation of domestic laws with international human rights standards. Our experience and expertise in these areas inform the scope and content of this submission.
This submission does not address each of the issues covered in the Consultation Paper. Instead, it focuses on those issues that are most comprehensively dealt with in international human rights law and jurisprudence, namely:
- involuntary orders;
- consumer participation;
- restraint and seclusion;
- external review;
- monitoring consumer well-being; and
- confidentiality and information-sharing.
