Recruitment

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST SOUGHT

PART TIME SESSIONAL MEMBERS

The Minister for Mental Health is seeking applications from qualified persons interested in appointment as part-time sessional members of the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal. Appointments are generally for a four-year period. Candidates must be available a minimum of one full day per month. Greater availability is welcomed. Successful candidates will sit from 1 September 2024.

Applications are sought for the following categories:

Deputy President [1]
Lawyer
Psychiatrist
Other Suitably Qualified Member

CRITERIA

Deputy President

Deputy President members must be a former or current judicial officer or eligible for appointment as a judicial officer. A Member cannot hold concurrent appointments as a Lawyer Member and a Deputy President. Part-time Deputy Presidents sit in the Forensic Division of the Tribunal. A panel sitting in the Forensic Division is constituted by the Deputy President and two other Members, being a psychiatrist and another member with suitable qualifications. The Forensic Division reviews the care, treatment and detention of forensic and correctional patients, in correctional centres and mental health facilities in NSW, and is responsible for determining the leave, release and ongoing management of forensic patients.

[1] Limited appointments are available for the category of Deputy President however an eligibility list for the period 2024-2026 will be established.

Lawyer

Lawyer members must be Australian lawyers with a current practising certificate/Bar admission. The lawyer member is the presiding member, and has the role of chairing and managing the hearing in a manner conducive to achieving the highest standards of procedural fairness, patient engagement and decision making. The lawyer member will advise other members on points of law, and ensure that the patients (and/or their representatives) have an opportunity to speak.

The lawyer member is responsible for:

conducting the pre-hearing planning meeting with the other Members;
deciding the order of evidence;
making sure all members take part in decision making;
articulating the reasons for the decision; and
where required, writing the decision, taking into account the contributions from the other members.

Psychiatrist

Psychiatrist members must be registered medical practitioners with specialist registration in psychiatry and recognised qualifications as a psychiatrist (such as being a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists or equivalent). The psychiatrist member brings to the Tribunal specialist expertise and the capacity to skilfully question professional colleagues to elicit the clinical information required by the Tribunal.

In addition, the psychiatrist member is responsible for taking an educative role with the other two members of the Tribunal. The psychiatrist member does not provide a second opinion regarding the psychiatric treatment being provided, nor does that member play any role in the supervision of mental health teams or quality assurance of the services provided.

Other Suitably Qualified Members

Other Suitably Qualified members must have professional or personal experience with persons to whom the Mental Health Act 2007 relates, such as people with a mental health condition. Experience with persons with dementia, acquired brain injury, intellectual disability or other cognitive impairments is highly regarded.The Other Suitably Qualified member may contribute knowledge or lived experience of mental illness, mental health services, patient rights, and community expectations to the matters being considered at a hearing.

Other Criteria

Members may be required to travel throughout metropolitan Sydney and on occasion to regional areas of NSW. Members are expected to participate in Tribunal professional development events.

Applicants with lived experience as consumers or carers are encouraged to apply.

Remuneration

The Mental Health Review Tribunal has been classified as Group D5 under the Public Service Commission’s Boards and Committees remuneration framework for non-presidential members. Remuneration for presidential members is determined under the SOORT Public Office Holders group.

To Apply

To be considered for appointment to the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal, please submit an expression of interest by clicking the appropriate button below. To complete the submission form, you will need to upload a cover letter stating your interest in the role (max 2 pages) and a current Curriculum Vitae (max 3 pages). All applicants will undergo mandatory probity checks including a criminal record check.

Further Information

Further information may be found in the Tribunal’s Member Selection Criteria and Member Recruitment Guidelines. Please contact the Registrar on 0418 835 413 with any queries.