National principles for forensic mental health

The National Mental Health Commission (NMHC) is providing support for a consultation process to enable stakeholders to express their views on a set of principles for forensic mental health in Australia.

This is the first national process in forensic mental health in which the views of lived experience, government and non-government stakeholders will be considered.

The National Statement of Principles for Forensic Mental Health Services was released in 2006 and in the 15 years since its release, there have been a number of changes in Australia in forensic mental health. These include:

• the recognition of the importance of First Nations culture, and that this needs to be a core part of all services, with leadership by First Nations people
• the recognition of the importance of Lived Experience within service design and key decision making
• the impact of international agreements including the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability and the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules
• significant changes to how mental health services in Australia are planned, organised and funded
• the impact of the NDIS in the way disability services are organised and funded.

The project is asking from contributions from people across forensic mental health services including family members and carers, and people working in the provision of mental health care. They are seeking feedback specifically on what principles are important and why, and what the best set of principles should include.

Forensicare strongly encourage everyone with experience of the forensic mental health system in Australia to contribute to this consultation project.

There are two ways you can contribute:

• By completing a brief online survey. Anyone aged 18 years or older who is interested in, involved in, or who has worked, or currently works in the mental health and/or criminal justice system (police, court, corrective services), can complete the survey here.
• By joining an online workshop discussion. Workshops will be held in early 2022 and will take up to 2 hours.  Expressions of interest are open here. People with lived experience who would prefer to email for more information can contact Mentalhealthmatters2@gmail.com.

For more information, contact the project group directly using the form at the bottom of this page.