The 5th Edition of the Mental Health Rights Manual has been developed by the Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) with support from the Mental Health Commission of NSW.
The Commission is an independent body which was established to drive reform that benefits people with lived experienceLived experience is the knowledge and understanding acquired from living through or with something. This manual frequently refers to people with lived experience of mental illness; in this context it means people living with mental health conditions and all this entails (sometimes called consumers) and family or friends supporting someone living with mental illness (sometimes called carers). More of mental illness and their families and carers. The Commission’s support of the Manual recognises the vital role this resource can play in assisting people living with mental health conditions, carers and families, and their supporters working with consumers to better access important information affecting their engagement with mental health and human services, and the law in NSW.
You can learn more about the Commission from its website by following this link.
The 5th Edition of the Mental Health Rights Manual has been developed by the Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) with new material co-authored by Corinne Henderson, Principal Policy Advisor MHCC, also acting as Project Manager, Editor, and contributor particularly on community sector matters and Jennifer Chen, legal consultant to the project and Solicitor, Mental Health Legal Advocacy Service.
Following on from the original printed first edition, a collaboration between MHCC and the Redfern Legal Centre, the publication was undertaken with the support of the Law and Justice Foundation.
The two first editions of the online resource (Editions 2 and 3) were developed with a grant from the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW. MHCC acknowledge this support with great appreciation, as it laid the foundation for the ongoing growth and development of this important ‘living document’. The 3rd Edition was produced in collaboration with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC).
The 4th Edition expanded on the previous edition and MHCC recognise the value of PIAC’s earlier contributions which laid the structural foundation for future editions. Undertaken with the support of the Mental Health Commission of NSW, the material was co-authored by Corinne Henderson (MHCC) who has managed the project since 2009. Co-author and consultant to the project was Phillip French, a lawyer with extensive national and international experience in the mental health, disabilityDisability is defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) as total or partial loss of the person’s bodily or mental functions; total or partial loss of a part of the body; the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness, capable of causing disease or illness; the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person’s body; a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction; a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment or that results in disturbed behaviour. More, human rights context, is in practice in NSW and is a Member of NCAT and the MHRT.
Please NOTE: The Manual contains many website links which connect to other freely available government and community-based service and information websites as well as to Australian State and Federal legislation, International charters and other resources. The organisations concerned own the copyright of material on their websites and should be referenced accordingly when used in other documents.
Updated June 30, 2021
