Lived experiences of compulsory community treatment orders report

Te Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission has published a new report on lived experiences of compulsory community treatment orders (CCTOs).

This report is part of the series of mental health and addiction service monitoring reports called Te Huringa Tuarua: Mental Health and Addiction Service Monitoring Reports 2023.

It looks at CCTOs made under section 29 of the Mental Health Act 1992. The focus is on amplifying voices of tāngata whaiora, whānau, and family.  

They heard that the clinical review and the court hearing processes involved in CCTOs can silence or override tāngata whaiora and whānau perspectives. The report also documents how clinical reviews and court hearings marginalise Te Ao Māori and lived experience perspectives.

The number of people subjected to a CCTO under the Mental Health Act increased by 8% between 2017 and 2021.  

In the 2020/21 year, almost 7,000 people were under compulsory treatment in our communities. Māori are more likely to be subject to CCTOs than other populations in Aotearoa.

Te Hiringa Mahara is calling for:

• a new mental health law based on supported decision making, and embedding Te Tiriti o Waitangi and a Te Ao Māori worldview
• a reduction in the number of applications and outcomes granted for CCTOs, and a reduction in the rate of CCTO use
• a reduction in the inequitable use of CCTOs for Māori and Pacific.
• services and courts implementing cultural and other practices that ensure tāngata whaiora as well as whānau and family perspectives are heard, and tāngata whaiora make the decisions about their care.

Read the report on lived experiences of compulsory community treatment orders.