Western Australian Current Acts

MENTAL HEALTH ACT 2014 - SECT 359

359 .         Specific powers of mental health advocates

        (1)         The powers of a mental health advocate include these powers —

            (a)         visiting, at any time and for as long as the mental health advocate considers appropriate, a mental health service at which one or more identified persons are being detained or that is providing treatment or care to one or more identified persons;

            (b)         inspecting any part of a mental health service that the mental health advocate visits;

            (c)         seeing and speaking with an identified person unless the identified person objects to the mental health advocate doing so;

            (d)         making inquiries about any of these things —

                  (i)         the admission or reception of an identified person by a mental health service or other place;

                  (ii)         the referral of an identified person for an examination to be conducted by a psychiatrist at a mental health service or other place;

                  (iii)         the detention of an identified person at a mental health service or other place;

                  (iv)         the provision of treatment or care to an identified person by a mental health service or other place;

            (e)         requiring a staff member of a mental health service or other place to do any of these things —

                  (i)         answer questions or provide information in response to any inquiry made about a matter referred to in paragraph (d)(i) to (iv);

                  (ii)         make available any document that the mental health advocate may inspect, or take a copy of, under paragraph (f) or (g);

                  (iii)         give reasonable assistance to the mental health advocate in the exercise of a power under this subsection;

            (f)         inspecting and taking a copy of the whole or any part of the medical record of, or any other document about, an identified person that is held by the mental health service unless the identified person objects to the mental health advocate doing so;

            (g)         inspecting and taking a copy of the whole or any part of any document, or any document in a class of document, that is held by the mental health service and is prescribed by the regulations.

        (2)         A mental health advocate cannot exercise a power under subsection (1)(c) or (f) in relation to an identified person who is a voluntary patient without the consent of —

            (a)         the identified person; or

            (b)         if the identified person does not have the capacity to consent to the power being exercised in relation to him or her — the person who is authorised by law to consent to the provision of treatment or care to the identified person.

        (3)         The exercise by a mental health advocate of any power under subsection (1) is subject to the direction of the Chief Mental Health Advocate.