Submission on the Proposed Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill 2025 (SA)

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) has submitted a response to the South Australian Office of the Chief Psychiatrist’s consultation on the proposed Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill 2025 (SA). The APS welcomes the Bill’s strong rights-based intent and its focus on supported decision-making, least-restrictive practice, and coercion reduction. 

The submission highlights: 

• The need for clear guidance, training, and oversight to support consistent, rights-based implementation. 
• The critical role of psychologists in supported decision-making, capacity assessment, and coercion reduction. 
• Key considerations relating to Statements of Preferences, family involvement, children and young people, forensic orders, and duty-to-warn provisions. 

The APS is pleased that this exposure draft of the Bill is consistent with our previous submissions and advocacy on mental health legislation reform in South Australia.

View submission