For 11 years the N.S.W. mental health legislation was under review. The new legislation was finally enacted in 1983. Several different committees worked on the development of the legislation over the 11-year period. Two government departments, the Department of Health and the Attorney-General's Department, were involved in the preparation of the legislation. As a result, many parts of the Act represent an uneasy compromise between the medical-humanitarian and legal points of view. The process of development of the definition of a mentally ill person, which is traced in this article, exemplifies this. Features of the new definition are critically reviewed and potential problems discussed.
References
1.
EdwardsG. (1978) Mental Illness and Civil Legislation in New South Wales. Unpublished thesis for the degree of Doctor of Medicine, University of Sydney, 1977.
2.
Proceedings Of The Institute Of Criminology No. 22 (1978) Proposed Amendments to N.S.W. Mental Health Act. The University of Sydney, Faculty of Law, Sydney.
3.
New South Wales Mental Health Act 1958, No. 45 (1978) Government Printer, New South Wales, 6.
4.
South Australian Mental Health Act 1976–1977, No. 24 (1977) Government Printer, South Australia, 3.
5.
Western Australian Mental Health Act 1962, No. 46 (1979) Government Printer, Western Australia, 4.
6.
Proceedings Of The Institute Of Criminology, op. cit., 15.
7.
ibid., 16.
8.
American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Third Edition). American Psychiatric Association, Washington.
9.
Proceedings Of The Institute Of Criminology, op. cit., 19.
10.
Speech delivered by the Hon. L. J. Brereton, M.P., Minister for Health, in the Legislative Assembly on the Mental Health Cognate Bills, 24 November 1982. Government Printer, New South Wales, 6.
11.
New South Wales Mental Health Bill 1982 (1982) Government Printer, New South Wales, 6–7.
12.
New South Wales Mental Health Act 1983 (1983) Government Printer, New South Wales, 7–9.
