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Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 2017

Assessment and treatment of persons suffering from severe substance addiction - Imposition and review of compulsory status

31: Patient must be released if review not determined within prescribed period

You could also call this:

"You must be freed from a treatment programme if the court doesn't decide within the allowed time."

Illustration for Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 2017

If you are a patient and someone asks for a review of your compulsory status under section 29(c), the court must make a decision within a certain time. This time is called the prescribed period, which is usually 10 days after the application is filed in court. The Judge can extend this time to up to 20 days if you are over 18 years old and the Judge has interviewed you under section 75.

If the court does not make a decision before the prescribed period ends, the application is dismissed. You must then be released from compulsory status. This means you are no longer forced to stay in a treatment programme.

If your application is dismissed, it does not stop someone from making another application under section 14 to try to make you stay in the programme. You can still be made to go back to the programme if the court decides it is necessary. The court's decision to dismiss your application does not affect any future applications.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6609173.

Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Mental healthCrime and justice > Courts and legal help
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30: Detention and treatment in treatment centre, or

"Going to a treatment centre if you have a severe substance addiction"

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32: Court may make compulsory treatment order, or

"The court can order you to keep getting treatment if it thinks you need it."

Part 2Assessment and treatment of persons suffering from severe substance addiction
Imposition and review of compulsory status

31Patient must be released if review not determined within prescribed period

  1. An application for review under section 29(c) must be considered and determined within the prescribed period.

  2. For the purposes of this section, the prescribed period is the period of 10 days after the date on which the application is filed in the court or the period of days specified by the Judge under subsection (3).

  3. If the patient is older than 18 years of age, the Judge may specify a period of up to 20 days after the date on which the application is filed if the Judge—

  4. has interviewed the patient under section 75; and
    1. is satisfied that it is not practicable to determine the application within a period of 10 days.

      1. If the application is not finally determined before the expiry of the prescribed period, the application is dismissed and the patient must be released from compulsory status.

      2. The dismissal of an application to review the compulsory status of a person under subsection (4) does not preclude any further application under section 14 in respect of the person.

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