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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

34: Right to apply to court for urgent review of patient's status

You could also call this:

"Ask a court to urgently check if a patient really needs compulsory treatment"

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

You can ask a court to urgently review a patient's status if you think they should not be getting compulsory treatment. You can do this if you think the patient does not meet the criteria for compulsory treatment, or if you think the compulsory treatment certificate was given wrongly.

You can make this request to the court if you are the patient, the patient's principal caregiver, the patient's welfare guardian, the patient's nominated person, the patient's lawyer, the person who applied to have the patient assessed under section 14, the medical practitioner who usually attended the patient, or the responsible district inspector.

If you or someone else has already asked the court to review the patient's status and nothing has changed, the Judge might decide not to hear the new request without even having a hearing. When the court reviews the patient's status, the Judge will think about whether the patient meets the criteria for compulsory treatment and might order the patient to be released if they do not meet the criteria.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6609177.

Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Mental healthCrime and justice > Courts and legal help
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33: Restriction on making compulsory treatment order in respect of child or young person, or

"Rules for helping children and young people with severe substance addiction get the right treatment."

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35: Objective of compulsory treatment, or

"Helping you get better with compulsory treatment and support"

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

34Right to apply to court for urgent review of patient's status

  1. A patient or any person specified in subsection (2) may at any time apply to the court for an urgent review of the patient’s status on any of the following grounds:

  2. the criteria for compulsory treatment are not, or are no longer, met:
    1. in the case of a patient who is not subject to a compulsory treatment order, the compulsory treatment certificate should not have been given.

      1. The persons referred to in subsection (1) are—

      2. the patient’s principal caregiver:
        1. the patient’s welfare guardian:
          1. the patient’s nominated person:
            1. a lawyer of the patient:
              1. the applicant who applied, under section 14, to have the patient assessed:
                1. the medical practitioner who usually attended the patient immediately before the patient was required to undergo compulsory treatment:
                  1. the responsible district inspector.

                    1. If the patient or a person specified in subsection (2) has previously made an application under this section for an urgent review of the patient’s status, a Judge may, without a hearing, decline to hear the application if there is no material before the court to indicate that the condition of the patient has changed.

                    2. On a review under this section, the Judge must—

                    3. consider whether, in relation to the patient, the criteria for compulsory treatment are met; and
                      1. if not satisfied that the criteria for compulsory treatment are met, order that the patient be released from compulsory status.