Mental Health Act (2014) Statutory Review 2021-2022

Background

The Mental Health Act (2014) (the Act) provides for the treatment, care, support and protection of people who have a mental illness; the protection of the rights of people who have a mental illness; and the recognition of the role of families and carers in providing the best possible care and support to people who have a mental illness, in the least restrictive environment.

The Statutory Review of the Mental Health Act (the Review)

The Mental Health Commission is reviewing the Act and want to hear from people who;

Have received treatment under the Act;
Have supported someone who received treatment under the Act;
Work in the mental health sector, including as an advocate or volunteer;
Have feedback about the operation and effectiveness of the Act.

The objectives of the Review are to:

identify elements of the Act that work well;
opportunities where the Act could be improved; and
make recommendations to the Minister and Parliament

The review is the opportunity to have your say and help improve the Act for the Western Australian community.

Feedback is welcome on the Act as a whole, individual parts of the Act, and on issues that have arisen over the past five years.

The results of the review will inform the development of a report and recommendations that will be tabled in Parliament.

Discussion Paper

A discussion paper has been prepared as a tool to assist you in providing feedback; Statutory Review of the Mental Health Act (2014) Discussion Paper.

Extracts of the discussion paper are below

Debora Colvin discusses the statutory review of the Mental Health Act (2014)

Ronda Clarke of the Aboriginal Health Council of WA discusses the statutory review of the Mental Health Act (2014)

Dr Nathan Gibson and Mrs Carli Sheers discuss the statutory review of the Mental Health Act (2014)

How to make a submission

Online survey

Short version (summary version)

Longer version (full discussion paper version)

Email

Your submission here

graphic image of an envelope shape

Post

Mental Health Act Statutory Review, Mental Health Commission

GPO Box X2299

Perth Business Centre WA 6847

Telephone

Call 6553 0561 at any time and leave a voice message of up to 5 minutes (this will be transcribed)

In person

Take part in a face to face sessions facilitated in the community. The list of organisations facilitating face-to-face sessions is available here.

Submissions close 4pm Monday 31 January 2022

Contact Us

For assistance to provide a submission, or to speak to one of the Project Team please email us or telephone 6553 0600.

What we have heard so far

Read a summary of what we have heard so far.

Expression of Interest – Policy Analyst, Lived Experience

The Mental Health Commission is committed to ensuring that the Statutory Review effectively engages and works together with stakeholders, including those with Lived Experience. The development of the Statutory Review report and recommendations will be undertaken through a process of Lived Experience co-analysis in order to help to bring diverse perspectives to the interpretation of findings.

The Mental Health Commission is looking for one Policy Analyst – Lived Experience to join the Project Team for a period of three months commencing in March 2022. Applications are sought from individuals with Lived Experience, who also have experience in areas including analysis, strategic policy management, development, implementation and review. It is expected that the successful applicant will be available to work for approximately 20 hours per week, paid at $75 per hour.

This role will be contributing to the analysis of findings from the stakeholder engagement process, and the subsequent development of proposed recommendations from a Lived Experience perspective.

More information about the scope and requirements of the role, and contact details for further queries can be found in the Expression of Interest.
To apply, please complete the Application Form and return it via one of the specified methods by 4:00pm Monday 17 January 2021.

Thank you for your interest in being part of reforming mental health in Western Australia.

Grants Process for Lived Experience Feedback to the Mental Health Act Statutory Review

The Mental Health Commission has awarded thirteen grants to organisations for the facilitation of face-to-face engagements with a diverse array of stakeholders who have lived experience with treatment under the Mental Health Act in the past five (5) years in Western Australia.

The organisations are involved with consumers, carers and families from a diverse range of stakeholder groups. To get in contact and enquire about the sessions they will be conducting, download the grant recipient contact information here.

The engagement sessions can include individual and/or group sessions, and involve consumers, personal support persons, carers and family members. Demographic details of participants will be collected as part of this process.

At the completion of the engagement process, a report detailing the feedback for each engagement session conducted will be prepared by the grant recipient and submitted to the Commission.

Resources

Resources in other languages

A4 posters can be printed to A3 by selecting 'A3 paper' size and 'Fit' in your print driver window.