Mental Health Review Tribunal

Member Competencies

The Mental Health Act 2016 (Act) requires the President to ensure members are adequately and appropriately trained to enable the Mental Health Review Tribunal (Tribunal) to perform its functions effectively and efficiently. In particular, the President must develop competencies in: a) administrative law; b) the operation of the Act; c) mental health and intellectual disability issues, including forensic mental health and forensic disability issues.

The President has prepared the Member Competencies Framework. The Member Competencies Framework forms the basis for appointment, performance management and professional learning and development activities related to the Tribunal members.

In addition to the Member Competencies Framework, the Tribunal has adopted The Administrative Review Council’s ‘A Guide to Standards of Conduct for Tribunal Members’ as the code of conduct for Tribunal members.

Member Training

Good governance requires the President to ensure that the Tribunal has a workforce that is appropriately qualified and experienced to be able to discharge its functions. In relation to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction, good governance requires the Tribunal’s members to be appropriately qualified and trained in the Tribunal’s practices.

In addition, the Act provides that the President must ensure the members are adequately and appropriately trained to enable the Tribunal to perform its functions effectively and efficiently.

 

Induction and Mentoring Program

The Tribunal commences members’ appointment terms with an induction program which includes mentoring. The Tribunal’s induction program includes:

• a minimum of a two-day program which includes delivery of training on workplace health and safety, the administrative aspects of the Tribunal's functions, decision-making under the Act including the application of the Human Rights Act 2019, conduct of Tribunal proceedings and necessary professional skills such as communication.

• a mentoring program where each new member is paired with an experienced member for a minimum of two hearing days. The expectation is that each mentor will provide support and guidance to their mentee prior to and after each hearing day.

Professional Learning and Development Framework

The Tribunal sees numerous benefits in investing in continuing professional learning and development. Some of these include:

• to improve performance, productivity, and efficiency
• improvement in members' subject-matter specific skills and knowledge
• increasing members' generic skills (e.g. teamwork, problem solving, communication)
• compliance with legal requirements
• talent management and succession planning
• member motivation.

The Tribunal recognises the various learning styles and existing levels of knowledge and experience of its members and therefore aims to employ numerous methods for building and sharing knowledge. The Tribunal must also accommodate the state-wide nature of its operations by making learning and development opportunities available to members across the State. 

The various delivery methods that the Tribunal aims to adopt in providing professional development and training for members are outlined below: 

Tool	Delivery Method	Content	General Timing
Masterclasses	Face to face delivery or remote presentation via Microsoft Teams	Legal content (e.g. interpretation of the Act, considering relevant case law). Clinical concepts (e.g. relevant diagnoses and treatment options, understanding intellectual disability).  Professional skills (e.g. communication skills, questioning techniques).	Monthly
Workshops	Face to face delivery or remote attendance via Microsoft Teams with presentations, panel discussions and small group work.	Category-specific workshops covering both knowledge and skills based.	As and when required
Specialised courses	e-learning, self-paced modules	Knowledge based content targeted to specialist areas (e.g. forensic decision-making, electroconvulsive therapy)	Available on demand for members
Information sheets	Concise, written documents made available to members	Information about relevant legislation, case law and Tribunal conduct	Available on demand for members
Experience sitting on panels with experienced members	Experience gained from participation in hearings	Skills based by experiencing hearings conducted by other experienced members. Knowledge based when experiencing hearings of different types.	On an as-needed basis
Communiques and Q&As	Written documents containing an update from the President, Deputy President, and Executive Officer	Updates regarding the Tribunal's administrative operations, relevant legislative and case law developments, addressing questions raised by members during the prior month.	Monthly
Booking times	Face to face or telephone discussion with an experienced staff member of the Tribunal (e.g. President, Deputy President, Executive Officer, Senior Principal Lawyer)	Available to members to discuss any questions or concerns they have about Tribunal operations or decision-making.	On an as-needed basis

 

External Training Resources

In addition to professional learning and development activities created and provided by the Tribunal, members are also directed to external resources that may be relevant. Examples of these resources include publications by the Queensland Human Rights Commission and journal articles written by expert clinicians, e-learning offered by the Judicial Council of Cultural Diversity and seminars presented by the Council of Australasian Tribunals (COAT).

 

The Tribunal also aims to provide members with access to a wide range of experts on topics relevant to Tribunal decision-making topics. The Tribunal is grateful for the time these experts have provided the Tribunal in the delivery of training for its members:

• Ms Rebekah Leong, Queensland Human Rights Commission

• Mr Scott James, Statewide Coordinator of the Independent Patient Rights Advisors
• Julie Wilson, Independent Patient Rights Advisor
• Dr Haydn Till, Clinical Neuropsychologist
• Mr Michael Power, Director Queensland Health Victim Support Service
• Professor Cathy Humphreys, Professor of Social Work, University of Melbourne
• Dr Frank Lambrick, Senior Practitioner, Victoria
• Dr Darren Nellie and Dr Ed Herrernan, Community Forensic Outreach Service
• Dr Warren Ward, Director Queensland Eating Disorder Service
• Elissa Waterson, Operations Director, Queensland Forensic Mental Health Services
• Tere Vaka, Penny Gordon & Associates, Psychologist
• Dr Richard Cash, Phoenix Australia Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health
• Leanne Burrowes, Psychologist/Senior Rehabilitation Consultant, EASEC
• Ms Michelle Combo, Way Forward, Psychologist, Metro South Hospital and Health Service
• Dragos Ileana, Statewide Transcultural Mental Health Practice Leader, Queensland Transcultural Mental Health Centre
• Cameron Dean, Partner, McCollough Robertson
• Professor Martine Powell, Professor at Griffith University and Director of the Centre for Investigative Interviewing
• Elizbeth Truong, manager, Transcultural Mental Health Centre
• Dr Geetha Kumaravelu, Senior Staff Specialist, Community Forensic Outreach Service
• Sheetal Deo and Renee Shike, LGBTI Legal Service
• Bronwyn Green, Manager, Guardianship (Legal), Office of the Public Guardian
• Professor Susan Rossell, Cognitive Neuropsychologist Swinburne Centre for Mental Health and Professor David Castle, Professor of Psychiatry, Centre for Mental Health Service Innovation
• Margaret Hornegold, Manager, First Nations Strategic Policy and Planning, Legal Aid Queensland
• Dr Jeremy Hayllar, Clinical Director, Alcohol and Drug Service, metro North Mental Health and Associate Professor Mark Daglish, Director of Addiction Psychiatry, Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital
• Dr Janet Bayley, Consultant Psychiatrist, Townsville Hospital and Health Service

Professional Learning and Development Committee

To assist the Tribunal in designing a Professional Learning and Development Framework that is appropriate to the needs of the Tribunal's membership, the Tribunal has a Professional Learning and Development Committee. The Chair of the Committee is the Deputy President and the Committee is comprised of a number of Tribunal members. Membership of the committee is rotated to allow opportunities to vary participants.