Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) A person has a
mental illness if the person has a condition that —
(a) is
characterised by a disturbance of thought, mood, volition, perception,
orientation or memory; and
(b)
significantly impairs (temporarily or permanently) the person’s judgment
or behaviour.
(2) A person does not
have a mental illness merely because one or more of these things apply —
(a) the
person holds, or refuses or fails to hold, a particular religious, cultural,
political or philosophical belief or opinion;
(b) the
person engages in, or refuses or fails to engage in, a particular religious,
cultural or political activity;
(c) the
person is, or is not, a member of a particular religious, cultural or racial
group;
(d) the
person has, or does not have, a particular political, economic or social
status;
(e) the
person has a particular sexual preference or orientation;
(f) the
person is sexually promiscuous;
(g) the
person engages in indecent, immoral or illegal conduct;
(h) the
person has an intellectual disability;
(i)
the person uses alcohol or other drugs;
(j) the
person is involved in, or has been involved in, personal or professional
conflict;
(k) the
person engages in anti-social behaviour;
(l) the
person has at any time been —
(i)
provided with treatment; or
(ii)
admitted by or detained at a hospital for the purpose of
providing the person with treatment.
(3) Subsection (2)(i)
does not prevent the serious or permanent physiological, biochemical or
psychological effects of the use of alcohol or other drugs from being regarded
as an indication that a person has a mental illness.
(4) A decision whether
or not a person has a mental illness must be made in accordance with
internationally accepted standards prescribed by the regulations for this
subsection.