My Rights, My Decisions

For consumers

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

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 tools to support you if you become unwell in the future.

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.

My Rights, My Decisions workshops for consumers

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.

Click here to find out when the next My Rights, My Decisions workshops will be held and how to register.

For more information about My Rights, My Decisions workshops or Form Kit, email peer.education@actmhcn.org.au or call 02 6230 5796 or 02 6145 0072. 

For providers

The Network delivers My Rights, My Decisions (MRMD) workshops to workers who provide services and supports to consumers, including but not limited to clinicians, community workers and peer workers.

My Rights, My Decisions helps workers better support consumers when they become unwell.  It achieves this by enabling consumers to work with their treating team when they are well to make decisions about their future treatment and support needs.  By knowing and understanding consumers’ needs and preferences, workers can experience better outcomes and build greater rapport with consumers when they are receiving treatment.

Under the Mental Health Act 2015 (ACT), consumers have the right to put in place decision-making tools to support them and others if they become unwell. Provider workshops help workers to understand how to use and promote the following tools to support them in their work with consumers:

• Nominated Person – A Nominated Person is someone who helps a consumer make and express their decisions if they become unwell
• Advance Agreement – Relates to treatment preferences and what should happen at home with regard to dependants, pets, bills and so on, e.g. ‘Frank Jones will feed my dog’. Consumers can also provide any relevant information such as languages they speak or other illnesses they have
• Advance Consent Direction – Relates to what treatments a consumer agrees or do not agree to, including medications. Consumers can also say who they do or don’t want to receive information about them when they have reduced decision-making capacity.

These three tools are available for free as a Form Kit for anyone who wants to look at or complete them.  Click here to download a copy of the Form Kit.

Click here to request a My Rights, My Decisions workshop for you or your workers.

For more information about My Rights, My Decisions workshops or Form Kit, email peer.education@actmhcn.org.au or call 02 6230 5796 or 02 6145 0072.

Please note that the ACT Mental Health Consumer Network does not have access to completed forms or records of who has forms in place. The back of the Form Kit provides information about where and how forms are recorded.