Mental Health Act 2007 (NSW)

Mental Health Act 2007 No 8

An Act to make provision with respect to the care, treatment and control of mentally ill and mentally disordered persons and other matters relating to mental health; and for other purposes.

Chapter 1 Preliminary

1 Name of Act This Act is the Mental Health Act 2007.

2 Commencement This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

3 Objects of Act The objects of this Act are— (a) to provide for the care and treatment of, and to promote the recovery of, persons who are mentally ill or mentally disordered, and (b) to facilitate the care and treatment of those persons through community care facilities, and (c) to facilitate the provision of hospital care for those persons on a voluntary basis where appropriate and, in a limited number of situations, on an involuntary basis, and (d) while protecting the civil rights of those persons, to give an opportunity for those persons to have access to appropriate care and, where necessary, to provide for treatment for their own protection or the protection of others, and (e) to facilitate the involvement of those persons, and persons caring for them, in decisions involving appropriate care and treatment.

Note— See also section 68 which contains principles for care and treatment and section 105 which sets out objectives for the New South Wales public health system.

4 Definitions (1) In this Act— accredited person means a person accredited under section 136. ambulance officer means a member of staff of the NSW Health Service who is authorised by the Secretary to exercise functions of an ambulance officer under this Act. assessable person—see section 17. authorised medical officer of a mental health facility means— (a) the medical superintendent of the mental health facility, or (b) a medical officer, nominated by the medical superintendent for the purposes of this Act, attached to the mental health facility concerned. community treatment order means a community treatment order in force under Part 3 of Chapter 3. correctional patient has the same meaning as it has in the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020. Court means the Supreme Court. declared mental health facility means premises subject to an order in force under section 109. Deputy President means a person appointed as a Deputy President of the Tribunal. designated carer—see section 71. determination of the Tribunal includes an order, direction or decision of the Tribunal. director of community treatment—see section 50. exercise a function includes perform a duty. forensic patient has the same meaning as it has in the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020. function includes a power, authority or duty. guardian, in relation to the exercise of any function under this Act by the guardian of a person under guardianship, means a guardian who is able to exercise that function. involuntary patient means— (a) a person who is ordered to be detained as an involuntary patient after a mental health inquiry or otherwise by the Tribunal, or (b) a forensic patient who is re-classified as an involuntary patient under the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020, or (c) a correctional patient who is re-classified as an involuntary patient under the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020. medical superintendent— (a) of a declared mental health facility, means the medical practitioner appointed, under section 111, as medical superintendent of the facility, or (b) of a private mental health facility, means the medical practitioner appointed, under section 124, as medical superintendent of the facility. mental health certificate—see section 17. mental health facility means a declared mental health facility or a private mental health facility. mental health inquiry means an inquiry conducted by the Tribunal under Division 3 of Part 2 of Chapter 3. mental illness means a condition that seriously impairs, either temporarily or permanently, the mental functioning of a person and is characterised by the presence in the person of any one or more of the following symptoms— (a) delusions, (b) hallucinations, (c) serious disorder of thought form, (d) a severe disturbance of mood, (e) sustained or repeated irrational behaviour indicating the presence of any one or more of the symptoms referred to in paragraphs (a)–(d). mentally disordered person—see section 15. mentally ill person—see section 14. parent, of a child, means any person having parental responsibility (within the meaning of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998) for the child. patient means a person who is admitted to a mental health facility in accordance with this Act and who is in the facility following the person's admission, and includes a person so admitted while absent from the facility either with or without leave of absence. person under guardianship means a person under guardianship within the meaning of the Guardianship Act 1987. premises includes any land, building and part of any building. President means the President of the Tribunal. principal care provider—see section 72A. private mental health facility means premises subject to a licence under Division 2 of Part 2 of Chapter 5. Secretary means the Secretary of the Ministry of Health. spouse means— (a) the person to whom a person is legally married (including the husband or wife of a person), or (b) a de facto partner, but where more than one person would qualify as a spouse, means only the last person to so qualify.