Objectives of the MHA

For mental health enquiries, please email MHA@publicguardian.qld.gov.au.

The Mental Health Act 2016 (MHA) commenced operation on 5 March 2017.

The main objectives of the MHA are:

To improve and maintain the health and wellbeing of individuals who have a mental illness and do not have the capacity to consent to treatment
To enable individuals to be diverted from the criminal justice system if they are found to have been of unsound mind at the time of committing a crime or to be unfit for trial
To protect the community if persons diverted from the criminal justice system may be at risk of harming others.

The main objectives are to be achieved in a way that:

(a) safeguards the rights of individuals

(b) is the least restrictive of the rights and liberties of a person who has a mental illness, and

(c) promotes the recovery of a person who has a mental illness, and the person’s ability to live in the community, without the need for involuntary treatment and care.