Mental Health Act 2014

About the Mental Health Act 2014

The Mental Health Act 2014 is the key legislation that governs the mental health system in Western Australia. It provides for:

• The rights of mental health patients and their carers
• The criteria for referring a person to be examined by a psychiatrist
• The process for making a person an involuntary patient
• The powers and responsibilities of the Chief Psychiatrist, the Chief Mental Health Advocate, the Minister for Mental Health and other key individuals
• The regulation of electroconvulsive therapy, emergency psychiatric treatment and other forms of specialised mental health treatment
• The complaints process in the mental health system

Role of the Chief Psychiatrist

The Chief Psychiatrist is granted certain powers and duties under the Mental Health Act 2014. The majority of these powers are outlined in sections 508-549 of the legislation. They include:

• Responsibility for overseeing the treatment and care of mental health patients
• Publication of guidelines and standards
• Monitoring notifiable incidents
• Undertaking visits to mental health services
• Authorising mental health practitioners (see also Authorised Mental Health Practitioners)
• Authorising hospitals
• Reviewing the treatment of involuntary patients or supervised persons under the Criminal Law (Mental Impairment) Act 2023
• Reporting on treatment statistics in the annual report
• Approving mental health services where electroconvulsive therapy can be performed
• Approving emergency electroconvulsive therapy
• Approval of forms

Mental Health Act 2014 Forms

For approved forms for clinical use, see the Mental Health Act 2014 Forms page.

Mental Health Act 2014 Training

• The Office of the Chief Psychiatrist runs the Authorised Mental Health Practitioner and Prescribed Medical Practitioner programs, in addition to other specialised Mental Health Act 2014 training for clinicians. See the training page for training dates and course overviews.
• The Mental Health Commission runs several Mental Health Act 2014 online training modules, including the Clinician’s eLearning Package (CELP), the Referring Practitioner’s eLearning Package (RELP), the Transport Officers’ eLearning Package and Consumer and Carer eLearning.

Mental Health Act 2014 Resources

• Clinicians’ Practice Guide to the Mental Health Act 2014
• Information for Referring Practitioners
• Mental Health Commission’s Statutory Review of the Mental Health Act 2014
• Charter of Mental Healthcare Principles

Additional resources are available via the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist’s Clinical Resources page and the Mental Health Commission’s Mental Health Act 2014 Resources page.

Mental Health Regulations 2015

The Mental Health Regulations 2015 is subsidiary legislation that is made under Mental Health Act 2014. The Regulations provide detail on specific parts of the Act and can be amended without having to be debated and passed by WA Parliament. With respect to the Chief Psychiatrist, the Regulations list Prescribed Medical Practitioners (PMPs), rules for the designation of Authorised Mental Health Practitioners (AMHPs) and rules for the transfer of patients, among other specific elements of mental healthcare.