Crimes Mental Impairment consultation paper.pdf - Victorian Law ...

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What happens to a person found unfit to stand trial or not guilty because of
mental impairment
3.92 When a person has been found either unfit to stand trial and to have committed the
offence or not guilty because of mental impairment or to have committed the offence,
the court must choose one of the following two options:
• declare that the person is liable to supervision, or
• order that the person be released unconditionally.
3.93 Where a person is found not guilty because of mental impairment in the Magistrates’
Court (for less serious offences), the court must discharge the person.
3.94 If a court has declared a person to be liable to supervision, they must then place that
person on a supervision order.
3.95 Victims of the offences and family members of the person can also provide input to the
court at this stage via a report. The Office of Public Prosecutions provides information and
support to victims and family members throughout the whole process, including notice of
hearings, information about the outcome of hearings and assistance to make a report to
the court prior to it making a supervision order.
3.96 The court must then decide whether to impose either:
• a custodial supervision order—under which the person is detained in custody and
receives treatment in an approved mental health service or disability residential or
treatment service, or
• a non-custodial supervision order—under which a person can live in the community
and receive treatment under supervision from an approved mental health service
or disability residential or treatment service and be subject to any other conditions
ordered by the court.
3.97 In both cases, the length of the supervision order is always indefinite. This means that the
order has no definite length and can last for the rest of the person’s life. A ‘nominal term’
is imposed by the court to indicate when the order must be reviewed by the court.
How does a person progress through the supervision regime
3.98 Once a person becomes subject to a supervision order under the CMIA they are
supervised and receive treatment and commence a long process that is designed to
provide a ‘staggered’ system of progress towards recovery and eventual release.
3.99 This process includes monitoring and reviews of supervision orders by the court and/or
applications to make changes to the order, depending on the progress and condition of
the person.
3.100 As part of the gradual reintegration of a person under a custodial supervision order, he
or she can apply for a leave of absence from the place of custody. These are designed to
assist a person to prepare for transition from a custodial setting to the community on a
non-custodial supervision order. There are consequences for people who do not comply
with the conditions of a non-custodial supervision order or leave.
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