Victorian Numbered Acts

MENTAL HEALTH ACT 2014 (NO. 26 OF 2014) - SECT 68

    (1)     A person has the capacity to give informed consent under this Act if the person—

        (a)     understands the information he or she is given that is relevant to the decision; and

        (b)     is able to remember the information that is relevant to the decision; and

        (c)     is able to use or weigh information that is relevant to the decision; and

        (d)     is able to communicate the decision he or she makes by speech, gestures or any other means.

    (2)     The following principles are intended to provide guidance to any person who is required to determine whether or not a person has the capacity to give informed consent under this Act—

        (a)     a person's capacity to give informed consent is specific to the decision that the person is to make;

        (b)     a person's capacity to give informed consent may change over time;

        (c)     it should not be assumed that a person does not have the capacity to give informed consent based only on his or her age, appearance, condition or an aspect of his or her behaviour;

        (d)     a determination that a person does not have capacity to give informed consent should not be made only because the person makes a decision that could be considered to be unwise;

        (e)     when assessing a person's capacity to give informed consent, reasonable steps should be taken to conduct the assessment at a time at, and in an environment in, which the person's capacity to give informed consent can be assessed most accurately.