Mental Health (Treatment and Care) Regulation 2003 (ACT)

The Mental Health (Treatment and Care) Regulation 2003 (ACT) (the Regulations) was a set of rules under the Mental Health (Treatment and Care) Act 1994 (ACT) (the Act) concerning the treatment and care of people with mental health issues, particularly those who are interstate custodial patients. The Regulations were repealed by the Mental Health Act 2015 (ACT) on 1 March 2016. The main legal issue was determining which interstate mental health laws and patients were recognised under the Act, and how interstate apprehension orders should be handled.

The Regulations provided a list of corresponding interstate mental health laws, and defined which interstate patients were recognised as custodial or non-custodial patients under the Act. It also outlined who was authorised to apprehend patients under interstate apprehension orders, and the conditions that must be met for such orders to be recognised. The Regulations aimed to ensure consistent treatment of interstate patients under the Act, while also protecting patient rights.

The Regulations were amended several times over the years. Key amendments included updating the corresponding interstate mental health laws, expanding the list of recognised interstate patients, and clarifying the conditions for recognising interstate apprehension orders. The Regulations were ultimately repealed and replaced by the Mental Health Act 2015, which incorporated the provisions of the Regulations into the new Act.

In summary, the Regulations provided the legal framework for recognising and treating interstate mental health patients under the Act, until they were repealed and incorporated into the new Mental Health Act 2015. The Regulations aimed to ensure consistent and rights-compliant treatment of interstate patients within the ACT mental health system.