Essay On Mental Illness In Australia

To be convicted of an offence in South Australia, the defendant must have possessed certain cognitive, voluntary and moral capacities at the time they committed the criminal act. Currently, the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) defines a mental impairment as not knowing the nature and quality of the conduct, did not know the conduct was wrong, or unable to control the conduct at the time of the offense. There are multiple Forensic Mental Health Facilities within South Australia, however only Queensland has established a specialised Mental Health Court at present, in regard to the Mental Health Act 2000. This court decides if the defendant was of unsound mind when offence was committed, resulting in being detained for involuntary treatment or care. Despite different states of Australia featuring different outcomes for the mentally ill within court, Commonwealth level orders them to be detained in a prison or hospital with the
The court will be focused on resolving issues, including understanding the needs of those with mental illnesses. Better trained personnel including counselors and specialised barristers/judges who are more equipped to handle the cases in front of them. By including lawyers in specific training, they will be able to identify and manage the offending. A common occurrence is lawyer's plea bargaining to find an alternate verdict, as they do not fully investigate or understand the disability before commencing a plea. The Uniform Evidence Acts state that every person is competent to give evidence unless they cannot understand a question or cannot give an answer that can be understood. Despite South Australia not adopting these laws, the Mental Health Act 2000 states evidently the same. This presents the argument that development of a Mental Health Court would