Dr Lynne Coulson Barr, Victoria’s Mental Health Complaints Commissioner, will discuss the way in which her office assesses issues raised in complaints through the ‘lens’ of the rights and requirements set out in Victoria’s Mental Health Act 2014 and the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006. The ratification of OPCAT can be seen as bringing a sharper focus to this lens, as it this protocol will place an additional degree of accountability on mental health services to ensure that people do not experience cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment in inpatient settings. This was highlighted in the MHCC’s sexual safety project report ‘The right to be safe: ensuring sexual safety in acute mental health inpatient units.’ The findings of this report also point to the need to recognise that restrictive interventions can be experienced as a significant breach of a person’s sexual safety, particularly for women with trauma histories.

Dr Lynne Coulson Barr will also discuss some of the considerations and input that her office has given to the work by the Victorian Ombudsman on the implications of OPCAT and approaches to inspections and monitoring.