The Mental Health Bill has passed its third reading in Parliament. The Bill repeals and replaces the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992.
This is an important step towards modernising compulsory mental health care and ensuring people receive care and support in a way that is safe, effective, and focused on their recovery.
Kiri Richards, Associate Deputy Director-General, Mental Health, Addiction and Suicide Prevention at the Ministry of Health says, ‘The Bill replaces legislation that was passed more than three decades ago, providing a new framework to support people to make decisions about their own care wherever possible, with strengthened protections and greater involvement from family and whānau.
‘Many people contributed to the development of the legislation, including those with lived experience, and their feedback will now help to improve the experiences of others in future.’
The legislation supports compulsory mental health care being delivered in a way that minimises coercion and is responsive to individual needs. It introduces far greater protections, ensuring people understand what is happening and what they are entitled to when they are under the legislation. This includes:
- supported decision-making – encouraging and assisting people to make decisions about their own care
- introducing independent advocacy roles, promoting safer practice through stronger safeguards for people under legislation, and enabling greater family involvement in a person’s care
- requiring compulsory mental health care to be provided in the least restrictive way, helping to ensure that care is therapeutic and responsive to a person’s needs and driving a stronger focus on reducing and ultimately eliminating seclusion.
The Bill responds to long-standing calls for the reform of compulsory mental health care in New Zealand and contributes to the Government’s response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions.
The Bill has a commencement date of 1 July 2028 to give mental health services and other parts of the system involved in the provision of compulsory care time to prepare for the changes required under the new legislation.
