Learning from Scotland: shaping Victoria’s mental health law reform

Scotland’s mental health law reform process has brought renewed focus to rights, participation, and the practical challenges of moving from principles to enforceable safeguards. This public lecture and panel discussion reflects on what the Scottish experience can and cannot offer Victoria as it continues its own reform journey.

The discussion will consider how reform processes build legitimacy, including the place of lived experience leadership, the management of risk narratives, and the politics of implementation. It will also explore the hard questions that follow any rights-based agenda, including how to reduce or eliminate coercion, how to strengthen accountability in decision-making, and how law reform interacts with service design, resources, and community supports.

The event is designed for community members, practitioners, policymakers, advocates, students, and anyone interested in mental health law, disability rights, and the future of compulsory mental health interventions. Audience questions will be welcomed.

Speakers:

Professor Jill Stavert - Professor of Mental Health and Capacity Law, Edinburgh Napier University

https://napier-resository.worktribe.com/person/110304/jill-stavert

Mary O'Hagan - Director of Lived Experience, Wellways

https://www.wellways.org/about-us/our-leadership/executive-eadership-team/mary-ohagan

Associate Professor Bridget Hamilton - Director, Centre for Mental Health Nursing, The University of Melbourne

https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/25397-bridget-hamilton