Involuntary Admission
When a person is admitted to a mental health facility as an involuntary patient
on the grounds of mental illness or mental disturbance, Mental Health Services
must notify the Tribunal of the admission.
The Tribunal will conduct a hearing within 7 days from the date of admission
and make a decision about whether the person should remain an involuntary patient.
The Tribunal may decide any of the following:
- That the person be detained as an involuntary patient on the grounds of
mental illness for a period of not longer than 3 months;
- That the person be detained as an involuntary patient on the grounds of
mental disturbance for not longer than 14 days;
- That the person meets the criteria for involuntary treatment in the community,
and place them on a Community Management Order for not longer than 6 months;
- That the person does not meet the criteria for involuntary admission and
revoke the order for admission.
Where the Tribunal revokes an order admitting a person as an involuntary patient
it must order that:
- The person be discharged immediately, or
- The person be discharged when arrangements can be made for their care.
A person must be discharged from an approved treatment facility not later than
7 days after the Tribunal orders it so.
To order that a person be detained as an involuntary patient the Tribunal must
be satisfied that all of the following criteria are met:
- The person has a mental illness or mental disturbance;
- The person needs treatment that is available at a mental health facility;
- Without that treatment the person is likely to cause imminent harm to themselves
or another person, or is likely to suffer serious mental or physical deterioration;
- The person is not capable of giving informed consent to treatment or has
unreasonably refused to give informed consent; and
- There is no less restrictive means of making sure the person receives the
treatment.
Where the Tribunal makes an order to detain a person as an involuntary patient,
it authorises treatment that may be administered to the person under the order.
The authorisation generally refers to appropriate standard treatment (such as
anti-psychotic medication administered orally or by injection).
Non-standard treatment cannot be administered to involuntary patients without
express approval of either the Tribunal or another person or body. The treating
psychiatrists must make a separate application for approval to administer such
treatment to involuntary patients.
Treatment categories that require express approval are:
- Non-psychiatric treatment, such as a surgical operation or procedure (approval
of either the Tribunal or legal guardian is required);
- Major medical procedure (approval of either the Tribunal or the Local Court
is required);
- Clinical trials and experimental procedures (trial or treatment must be
approved by an ethics committee and the approval of the Tribunal must be obtained);
- Electro-convulsive therapy (approval of Tribunal is required, except in
an emergency situation where it is deemed immediately necessary).
Psychosurgery and coma-therapy are not allowed to be performed on anyone in
the NT. Sterilisation is not allowed be to be performed on a person as a treatment
for mental illness or mental disturbance.
Mental Health Services may revoke a Tribunal order when a person no longer
meets the criteria for involuntary admission. This means a person may be discharged
before the Tribunal order has expired.
Where a person remains an involuntary patient for the duration of the order,
the Tribunal will conduct another hearing to decide whether a further order
needs to be made.
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Last Updated:
19/01/05
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Courts
& Tribunals