Mental Health Court and Mental Health Review Tribunal

AMHS Administrators: Roles and responsibilities

Mental Health Court

The registrar of the Mental Health Court is required to notify the relevant administrator of a hearing for a person for which the service is responsible.

The registrar may require an administrator to produce a particular document to the court.

The registrar may require an administrator to bring a person to a court hearing.

The court may make a 'court examination order' requiring the person before the court to submit to an examination by a practitioner at an authorised mental health service. The Act outlines the steps that apply before and after the examination.

Where the court makes a forensic order or a treatment support order for a person, the court must decide the authorised mental health service responsible for the person under the order.

Mental Health Review Tribunal

General

The tribunal's jurisdiction is to review treatment authorities, forensic orders, treatment support orders, a person's fitness for trial, and the detention of a minor in a high security unit.

The tribunal also hears applications for:

• examination authorities
• approvals of electroconvulsive therapy and deep brain stimulation, and
• approvals of the interstate transfers of forensic patients and treatment support order patients.

Notices and hearings

The relevant administrator receives notices of all hearings, including hearings in relation to examination authorities if the administrator is the applicant.

Administrators must ensure that the treating practitioner provides the Tribunal with reports required by the Tribunal at least 7 days before the hearing.

Administrators must also ensure that the appropriate clinical staff attend Tribunal hearings.

The Act includes provisions where a person subject to a scheduled review of a treatment authority, forensic order or treatment support order becomes a 'patient required to return' and cannot be located.

The administrator must give the tribunal written notice of the absence where the person is absent within 7 days of a hearing for a treatment authority or treatment support order, or within 14 days for a forensic order.

On receiving the notice, the hearing is adjourned.

The administrator must notify the Tribunal of the person’s return, after which the Tribunal is to arrange a hearing for the person.

Examination authorities

Administrators have specific responsibilities for examination authorities.

An application may be made to the Tribunal for an examination authority by:

• an administrator
• a person authorised in writing by an administrator
• a 'concerned person', who has received clinical advice from a doctor or authorised mental health practitioner about the person.

The application must include a statement by a doctor or authorised mental health practitioner about whether the behaviour of the person, or other relevant factors, could reasonably be considered to satisfy their requirements for making an examination authority for the person.

The requirements are:

• the person has, or may have, a mental illness
• the  person  does  not,  or  may  not,  have  capacity  to consent to be treated for the mental illness
• reasonable attempts have been made to encourage the person to be examined voluntarily or it is not practicable to attempt to encourage the person to be examined voluntarily, and
• there is, or may be, an imminent risk, because of the person's mental illness, of serious harm to the person or someone else, or the person suffering serious mental or physical deterioration.