Australian Capital Territory Current Acts Australian Capital Territory Current Acts(1) This section applies if a doctor proposes that psychiatric surgery be performed on a person but the person does not have decision-making capacity to consent or an advance consent direction consenting to the surgery.
(2) The doctor and the neurosurgeon who is to perform the surgery may jointly apply to the Supreme Court for an order consenting to the performance of psychiatric surgery on the person.
Note The order is needed for an application for the chief psychiatrist's approval for performance of the surgery (see s 169 (3) (c)).
(3) The Supreme Court may make the order only if satisfied on reasonable grounds that—
(a) the person has a mental illness; and
(b) the person—
(i) does not have decision-making capacity to consent to the surgery; and
(ii) does not have an advance consent direction consenting to the surgery; and
(iii) has not refused to consent to the surgery (in an advance consent direction or otherwise); and
(c) there are grounds for believing that the performance of the surgery is likely to result in substantial benefit to the person; and
(d) all alternative forms of treatment reasonably available have failed, or are likely to fail, to benefit the person.