“Some people in distress struggle to make their will and preferences clear, and find expressing themselves difficult. As New Zealanders we should be supporting people to express their will and preferences to enable them to make independent decisions about their mental health treatment, and this requires support, not force or making that mental health treatment legally compulsory.”
- Giles Newton-Howes, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychological Medicine,
University of Otago.
It is widely agreed the Mental Health Act needs urgent change. Work by the Government to change this law has been underway since 2019 (after He Ara Oranga, the report of the 2018 Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, recommended changing it).
On 1 October 2024, the Government released a new draft of this law (called the ‘Mental Health Bill’). During the public consultation stage of this law change process, there will be an opportunity for you to have your say on it.
Watch our video above, to learn more about this process and how to get involved.
Remember, no matter who you are — a person who has been under the Mental Health Act; a friend, family or whānau member; a politician or decision-maker; or part of the media — you can influence the Mental Health Act to change for the better.
Watch our video above, to discover four ways you can get actively involved in making change.
Getting ready to have your say — our top tips
Often, public consultation windows on draft laws aren’t very long. The feedback timeframes proposed by the Government might be inconvenient, and/or not allow you enough time to think about what you would like to change about this law, and why.
We don’t yet know how long the Mental Health Act’s public consultation phase will be, or when it will start. What we do know is it’s a really complex law, and we want to support you as best we can to be ready for consultation when it starts.
When public consultation starts, you’ll be able to give a written submission to the select committee (a group of MPs considering the proposed law) through Parliament’s website. You can also ask to give an oral submission to the committee, which can be submitted face-to-face, by phone or video conference, and is usually for around 10 minutes. Read about how to make a submission to a Parliamentary select committee here.
If you have something to say about this law, it’s really important you do share your views and experiences to help change it. Here are our top tips for getting ready to use your voice for change, when the time comes.
When the time comes to have your say
When the select committee calls for submissions on the draft Mental Health Bill, there are a number of ways you can get involved and have your say.
Please note: Your Mental Health Act submission will be made publicly (and potentially permanently) available by the Government, as part of the law change process.
If you’re planning on sharing your personal mental distress experiences as part of your submission, we recommend thinking carefully about what you’d like to share. Do all of your loved ones know your story? Does your story contain information you may not want some people to find, both now and into the future? Have you told your story publicly before? Sharing your lived experience story publicly can be an emotional process — do you have a support person you can lean on after sharing it? You can find more guidance on sharing your lived experience story publicly below.
Staying safe
Talking about the Mental Health Act may be upsetting or triggering — a valid and understandable response.
If you or someone you know has immediate safety concerns, please dial 111 or contact your local mental health crisis assessment team, which you can find at https://mentalhealth.org.nz/helplines