Mental Health Act 2013 – Legislation Reform
Please note the consultation period has now closed
Have your say
The Tasmanian Government is committed to open and transparent public consultation processes. We seek your feedback on the legislative reforms of the Mental Health Act 2013. The changes outlined in the Mental Health Act Consultation Amendment Bill relate to the approved Tranche 1 legislative amendments reflected in the Mental Health Act Review Outcomes Report.
This consultation process allows interested parties to provide feedback to the Tasmanian Government on whether you believe the legislative amendments reflect the Outcome Report recommendations and/or are fit for purpose.
Background
The Mental Health Act 2013 commenced on 17 February 2014.
The Tasmanian Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing is required under section 229 of the Mental Health Act 2013 (the Act) to review the operation of the Act, and complete the review, within six years after the Act’s commencement.
The Minister is also required under section 229 of the Act to cause a Report on the outcome of the review to be tabled in each House of Parliament within 10 sitting-days of each House after the review is completed.
The review of the Act is necessary to satisfy the requirements of Section 229 of the Act.
The review also provides a mechanism for:
- satisfying stakeholder expectations that the Act’s operation will be reviewed
- facilitating feedback from stakeholders on aspects of the Act’s operation that impact on or concern them, and
- enabling issues with the Act’s operation to be identified and conveyed to the Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing and the Minister for Justice, and for those issues to be reported to the Tasmanian Parliament.
The outcome review recommendations were accepted, and the final report published by the Tasmanian Government in June 2020. A copy of the report can be found here.
Mental Health Act Review Implementation Project Objectives
The key focus of the project is to implement the 29 recommendations from the Review Outcomes report. The Review process involved significant and broad consultation with representatives from the Government and non-Government sector, including people with lived experience, their families, and their friends over an extended period. In addition, several formal consultation groups were established that allowed for formal discussion and feedback to be received and provided project governance.
The review outcomes cover three broad areas:
- Legislative reform
- Forms and processes
- Training and workforce development.
The Outcome Report recommendations have been accepted by the Tasmanian Government for implementation across two tranches in 2022 and 2023.
Tranche 1 includes the most straightforward amendments and the attached documents relating to these amendments are as follows: Mental Health Act Consultation Amendment Bill and Guide
Feedback
To develop legislation to implement recommendations of the Mental Health Act Review Outcomes Report, the Amendment Bill consultation process seeks stakeholder and community feedback to allow the proposals to be further considered before legislation is finalised.
The Amendment Bill is a direct response to the Mental Health Act Review Outcomes Report recommendations. It is requested that submissions be focused on whether the amendments are consistent with the report and whether the amendments are appropriate.
Submissions
The public consultation process into the Tranche 1 legislative amendments closed on the 21 October 2022.
A summary of submissions received during the public consultation is available below Key Documents.
For further information, please contact the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist on [email protected]
The Right to Information Act 2009 and confidentiality
Information provided to the Government may be provided to an applicant under the provisions of the Right to Information Act 2009 (RTI). If you have indicated that you wish all or part of your submission to be treated as confidential, your statement detailing the reasons may be taken into account in determining whether or not to release the information in the event of an RTI application for assessed disclosure.
Accessibility of submissions
The Government recognises that not all individuals or groups are equally placed to access and understand information. We are therefore committed to ensuring Government information is accessible and easily understood by people with diverse communication needs.
Where possible, please consider typing your submission in plain English and providing it in a format such as Microsoft Word or equivalent.
Timeline
- Consultation opens: Tuesday, 27 September 2022
- Consultation closes: Friday, 21 October 2022
