Mental Health Bill passed!

After a decade of work, the Mental Health Act 2014 was passed in the WA Parliament in October 2014. It will become operational and replace the current Mental Health Act 1996 in late 2015.

The Mental Health Act 2014 will provide for the treatment, care and support of people who have a mental illness, and for the protection of the rights of people who have a mental illness. It will provide for the recognition of the role of families and carers in providing care and support to people who have a mental illness.

A series of fact sheets, including an overview of changes to the legislation, rights for people held under the Mental Health Act 2014, families and carers, children, treatment and others are available at: http://www.mentalhealth.wa.gov.au/mentalhealth_changes/mh_legislation/mhc_bill_resources

To support effective transition to the new Act, WA is currently in the implementation phase. This includes the Mental Health Bill Implementation Reference Group (MHBIRG), which was established to oversee the implementation process. Several groups working on specific aspects of the new Act report to the MHBIRG.

One of these is the Lived Experience Advisory Group (the LEAG).
The LEAG is a committee of consumers and carers, which is Co-Chaired by the Mental Health Commission and a lived experience Co-Chair, Lyn Mahboub. WAAMH provides administrative support to the LEAG under contract from the Mental Health Commission. Contact Carli Gettingby at info@waamh.org.au for more information.