Learning From the Past, Looking to the Future: Is Victorian Mental Health Law Ripe for Reform?1

Abstract

It is almost 30 years since the policy which underpins the current Victorian Mental Health Act was developed. The delivery of mental health services has changed dramatically over those years. As a result, the Act has been amended on numerous occasions, rendering it inaccessible for most people other than mental health law specialists. This article suggests that it may be time to legislate again, despite acknowledging that legislation tends to follow rather than precede change in mental health service delivery. The article traces the history of Victorian mental health legislation, from the opening of the first asylum in 1848, to the agitation for reform in the late 1970s which led to the passage of the current Act. Law reform is enhanced by clear identification of the values that underpin our laws. The new Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities may assist in identifying important contemporary values which should inform new mental health laws. The following areas merit consideration when new mental health laws are considered: advance directives, the interaction between mental health and guardianship laws, information for family and friends of patients, the extended use of community treatment orders, the grounds for civil commitment, the jurisdiction of the Mental Health Review Board of Victoria, and the establishment of a commission to coordinate research and planning for the delivery of mental health services.