At your hearing the Tribunal will decide whether you must have mental health treatment. It’s an important opportunity to have your say about whether you need compulsory treatment.
Here are some things you can do to get ready for your hearing.
You can read your treating team’s report about you. This report should be given to you at least 2 days before your hearing. Ask your treating team for a copy if they haven’t given it to you. You can share this report with someone who is helping you prepare for the hearing.
You can plan what you will say. We have designed this worksheet to help you with that and you can give it to us at your hearing. You can also use this bigger guide from Victoria Legal Aid. Both are available on our website.
You can ask someone to help you prepare for your hearing:
• you can ask a friend or family member to help you prepare and to come to your hearing
• you can make somebody your nominated person to say what you want at your hearing using the nominated person form (this takes a while, so don’t leave it too late)
• you can ask for a lawyer by contacting Victoria Legal Aid or the Mental Health Legal Centre
• you can ask your treating team to help you understand why they think you need compulsory treatment
• you can ask for an Independent Mental Health Advocate to help you talk to your treating team
• you can ask your health service for an Interpreter at your hearing and we will arrange that.
The details of how to do these things are on our website.
Finally, if you have an advance statement you can bring it to your hearing.
The Tribunal wants to hear from you. So come along and have your say at your hearing.