My Rights, My Decisions for Consumers

The Network provides free workshops to help you put your decisions in place for if you become unwell in the future.  Under the Mental Health Act 2015 (ACT), you have the right to put in place the following decision-making tools to support you if you become unwell:

• Nominated Person – A Nominated Person is someone you choose to help you make and express your decisions if you become unwell and have reduced decision making capacity. This might be a friend, family member, neighbour etc. who you trust to help you when you’re unwell. They will be consulted and receive information about you and your treatment if you have reduced decision-making capacity. This form must be signed by you and your Nominated Person to be valid.
• Advance Agreement – Here you can say what your treatment preferences are and what should happen at home with your children, pets, bills and so on. You can also provide any relevant information about you, such as languages you speak or other illnesses you have. This form must be signed by you and a member of your treating team (e.g. your GP or psychiatrist), and by your Nominated Person if you have one.
• Advance Consent Direction – Here you can say what treatments you agree to or do not agree to, including medications. You can also say who you do or don’t want to receive information about you if you have reduced decision-making capacity in the future.  This form must be signed by you, a member of your treating team (e.g. your GP or psychiatrist), and one or two witnesses (refer to the Form Kit about who can be a witness).

Each of these three forms can only be completed when you have decision making capacity.

My Rights, My Decisions (MRMD) workshops help you to think about the things that are important to you if you become unwell in the future.  You will learn how to complete your Form Kit, including when you can complete it, what you can write in it, how to lodge it for future use and more.

By the end of the workshop, you will:

• Have a basic understanding of your rights, decision-making capacity and supported decision making under the Mental Health Act 2015 (ACT);
• Know the difference between a carer, a Nominated Person and other types of support people and know how to appoint a Nominated Person;
• Understand what an Advance Consent Direction and Advance Agreement can be used for and how to complete them; and
• Know how to finish and lodge your Form Kit.

These tools are available for free as a Form Kit for anyone who wants to look at them or complete them so they can be used for treatment and support in the future.  Using the My Rights, My Decisions Form Kit is the easiest way to put your rights and decisions in place. By following the step-by-step instructions, you can make sure you meet the rules of the Mental Health Act 2015 (ACT). This helps people treating you to help you in ways that work best for you. You can complete one, two or all three forms to support you if you become unwell in the future.

For more information about My Rights, My Decisions workshops or Form Kit, please email peer.education@actmhcn.org.au or call 02 6230 5796 or 02 6145 0085.

Click here to download a copy of the My Rights, My Decisions Form Kit that you can fill in on your computer or device or to print and fill in by hand.

Please note that you don’t submit your Form Kit to the ACT Mental Health Consumer Network. The back of the Form Kit gives instructions for your treating team about where and how to record your forms.