Submission to the Review of the Mental Health Act: Strengthening Safeguards and Support

Two of the questions driving this review of Tasmania’s mental health legislation are concerned with the important issues of involuntary detention and treatment of mental health consumers. The first question is whether we should continue the provisions enabling the involuntary detention of consumers on community treatment orders (the ‘sunset clauses’). The second is whether we should amend provisions to make it ‘easier’ to compulsorily treat consumers who are already involuntarily detained. It is Anglicare’s primary submission that we are not ready in Tasmania to further curtail the rights and freedoms of mental health consumers as we do not have sufficient safeguards in place, nor do we have a system that ensures the care and support of all consumers.