On 30 November 2015 the Mental Health Act 2014 (WA) (“MHA 2014”) will come into substantive operation.
Both the MHA 2014 and the Mental Health Legislation Amendment Act 2014 were passed last November, but had limited operation to facilitate a 12 month transition period. The new Acts work together to repeal old legislation and introduce new laws for the treatment, care, support and protection of people with mental illness.
The new regime is based on the 15 principles set out in the Charter of Mental Health Care Principles (statutorily enshrined as a Schedule of the MHA 2014) which aim to protect mental health patients’ dignity, respect and right to make decisions about their own treatment. Additionally, the National Standards for Mental Health Services 2010 have been adopted as the Chief Psychiatrist’s Standards for the purposes of the MHA 2014.
