Call for change: justice reform for people with mental illness

People with mental illness, intellectual or cognitive disability under the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act (the CLMIA Act) can be detained indefinitely, with their release only able to be approved by the Governor on advice of the Attorney General.

Without access to the courts or to an independent advocate, with many not even having had a fair trial, these people are languishing in Western Australian prisons with little access to contemporary mental health support, and little prospect of release.

It is essential we remember these people have not been convicted, and nor are they culpable for their actions. We should not treat them in the same way as prisoners. We must uphold their human rights.

The State government is reviewing the CLMIA Act. WAAMH and key mental health and disability stakeholders have worked closely this year to lobby the Attorney General on the most urgent and important changes. Although the government has restated a commitment to reform, any indications of what it intends to change are long overdue. We are becomingly increasingly concerned that the delay will mean the promised changes will not occur in this term of government.

WA currently has the worst legislation in Australia for dealing with mentally impaired accused. This law undermines the many progressive mental health and disability reforms made by this government.

We are clear that wholesale reform of the Act is necessary. However as successive governments have failed to implement extensive reforms, the disability and mental health sectors propose a staged approach to reform, with the following changes to occur immediately.

The mental health and disability sectors agree the five most urgent changes to the Act are:

  1. Allow judiciary the discretion to impose a range of options for mentally impaired accused through introducing a community-based order for those found unfit to stand trial, and repealing Schedule 1 to make Custody Orders no longer compulsory for some offences.
  2. Limit terms - Custody Orders should be no longer than the term the person would likely have received, had they been found guilty of the offence.
  3. Introduce new procedural fairness provisions, which provide for rights to appear, appeal, review, and rights to information and written reasons for a decision in court and Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board proceedings.
  4. Introduce a special hearing to test the evidence against an accused found unfit to stand trial.
  5. Ensure determinations about the release of mentally impaired accused from custody, and conditions be attached to such release (if any), are made by the Mentally Impaired Accused Review Board, with a right of review before the Supreme Court on an annual basis.

Add your voice to the more than 20 people and organisations that are calling for these reforms.

Email the Attorney General at Minister.Mischin@dpc.wa.gov.au asking the State government to meet its election commitment to reform the Act by introducing into Parliament and debating a Bill with the CLMIA reforms by the end of the 2015 Parliamentary year. You may like to CC the Premier, Mental Health Minister or your local representative.

To write your email, tell the Attorney General who you are and why these changes are important to you. for some ideas on what to include in your email you can:

  • use the key points that outline why these changes are important in the latest advocacy brief signed by more than 20 mental health and disability sector advocates and organisations

If you would like more detail about the impact of the Act and some of the other changes that are needed, please read the joint submission put to the Review of the CLMIA Act in December 2014 which was developed in partnership with key stakeholders.

To sign up for CLMIA Act updates, for more information, or for support with writing your email contact Chelsea McKinney on cmckinney@waamh.org.au or phone 6246 3000.

The Attorney General’s full contact details are:
Honourable Michael Mischin MLC
Attorney General
Address: 10th  Floor, Dumas House, 2 Havelock Street, WEST PERTH WA 6005
Telephone: (08) 6552-5600
Fax: (08) 6552-5601
Email: Minister.Mischin@dpc.wa.gov.au  
Email the Premier: wa-government@dpc.wa.gov.au 
Email the Mental Health Minister: Minister.Morton@dpc.wa.gov.au Find your local member here: http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/memblist.nsf/wallmembers