Bills

Mental Health (Community Visitor Scheme) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:48): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Mental Health Act 2009. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:48): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation and the explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading them.

Leave granted.

The Mental Health Act 2009 relates to the treatment, care and rehabilitation of persons with severe mental illness with the goal of bringing about their recovery as far as is possible.

The legislation aims to safeguard the rights of persons interacting with mental health services.

One of the ways the Act does this is through the Community Visitor Scheme. The Scheme plays an essential role in promoting the wellbeing, dignity, safety and rights of people living with a mental health condition receiving care from a mental health service.

A volunteer-led scheme, the Community Visitor Scheme visits, inspects and advocates for improvement to services.

The Principal Community Visitor and Community Visitors are independent statutory appointments established under the Mental Health Act2009. Their independence is vital to the Scheme.

This Bill seeks to amend the Mental Health Act 2009 to offer the Community Visitor Scheme a more practical and greater flexibility to conduct visitations by authorising the Minister to appoint, remove or suspend a community visitor, enable the Principal Community Visitor to delegate powers and functions and allow for visits and inspections of residential community mental health facilities to occur at least once in every 4-month period, unless specified by regulation, and at least once in every 6-month period for outpatient authorised community mental health facilities.

Currently the frequency of visitations is set out under the Act as 'at least once in every 2-month period' for treatment centres and for authorised community mental health facilities.

For some services, particularly community mental health services, and those in regional areas, bi-monthly visits are not fully effective as community mental health services often do not have consumers present.

A more targeted approach to visit a clinic or group meeting day is more effective to meet with consumers. The scheme has finite resources, and this requires visitation schedules to be prioritised on a risk-assessment basis.

In 2017 the Mental Health Act 2009 was amended to allow the gazettal of community mental health services. In 2022, the Chief Psychiatrist took a staged approach to gazetting additional community sites that were not gazetted at the time of the amendment, in particular in rural areas. This has led to more sites being gazetted and therefore requiring visitations by the Community Visitor Scheme.

It is important to note that these proposed changes will not affect the current legislative requirement to visit and inspect treatment centres at least once every 2-month period.

Targeted consultation on the earlier version of the draft Bill took place between November 2023 and February 2024. Detailed information was provided to targeted consumer groups, including lived experience and professional bodies via the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist.

The Principal Community Visitor also discussed the changes at meetings with the Lived Experience Advisory Group and the Human Rights Coercion Reduction Committee, and at regular meetings with various local health network mental health directors.

In total, 13 written submissions were received and overall there was strong support for the proposed amendments.

I would like to thank the many people who provided feedback to the consultation on this Bill.

The Principal Community Visitor has also developed a supporting policy position outlining the implementation of announced visits and inspections, with focused strategies for increasing client participation and client engagement, working in conjunction with services.

I would like to acknowledge the Principal Community Visitor Anne Gale, as well as Chief Psychiatrist Dr John Brayley and his team for their work in preparing this Bill.

This Bill is a positive change which will allow for greater flexibility in undertaking visits within the capacity of community visitors, alongside visits to disability accommodation by the Community Visitor Scheme under the Disability Services (Community Visitor Scheme) Regulations 2023.

I commend the Bill to the House.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Mental Health Act 2009

3—Substitution of section 50

Section 50 of the Act is substituted by sections 50 and 50A:

50—Principal Community Visitor

Proposed section 50 provides for the appointment of a Principal Community Visitor. The Principal Community Visitor is to be appointed on conditions determined by the Governor for a term not exceeding 5 years and will be eligible for reappointment. The Governor may suspend the Principal Community Visitor, but the Principal Community Visitor must be restored to their position if an address from both Houses of Parliament seeking their removal is not presented to the Governor within a specified timeframe. The Governor may, on the presentation of an address from both Houses of Parliament seeking the Principal Community Visitor's removal, remove the Principal Community Visitor.

50A—Community Visitors

Proposed section 50A provides for the appointment of Community Visitors. Community Visitors are to be appointed on conditions determined by the Minister for a term not exceeding 3 years and will be eligible for reappointment. The Minister may, on application by the Principal Community Visitor, or on the Minister's own initiative after consultation with the Principal Community Visitor, suspend or remove a Community Visitor.

4—Amendment of section 51A—Delegation by Principal Community Visitor

This clause amends section 51A to provide additional categories of persons to whom the Principal Community Visitor may delegate their powers and functions under the Act.

5—Amendment of section 52—Visits to and inspections of treatment centres

This clause amends section 52 to make changes to the requirements imposed on community visitors for the periodic visiting and inspection of treatment centres.

6—Amendment of section 52A—Visits to and inspection of authorised community mental health facilities

This clause amends section 52A to make changes to the requirements imposed on community visitors for the periodic visiting and inspection of authorised community mental health facilities.

Schedule 1—Transitional provision

1—Continuation of appointments of Community Visitors

This clause is a transitional provision which provides for the continuation of appointments of Community Visitors in force immediately before the commencement of this clause.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Batty.