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Mental Health and Disability Law (LAWS70458)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5Online
From 2023 most subjects will be taught on campus only with flexible options limited to a select number of postgraduate programs and individual subjects.
To learn more, visit COVID-19 course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
September
Lecturer
Professor Ian Freckelton AO QC (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
| Availability(Quotas apply) | September - Online |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
This subject will analyse the relationship between psychiatry, psychology and law in contemporary Australia. It will address criteria and policy relating to involuntary status and the use of coercion in relation to those with mental illnesses and intellectual disabilities, focusing on the Mental Health Act 2014 (Vic) and the Disability Act 2006 (Vic); the role of the 2013 DSM-5; fitness to stand trial; mental impairment; sentencing of offenders with disabilities; expert evidence by mental health practitioners; mental harm litigation; the role of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in civil litigation; prediction of risk in criminal law; syndrome evidence in litigation; profiling evidence; and therapeutic jurisprudence.
Principal topics include:
- Involuntary status in contemporary Australia
- The role of the Chief Psychiatrist, the Mental Health Commissioner and the Mental Health Tribunal
- The role of DSM-5 and ICD-10
- Therapeutic jurisprudence
- Mental impairment
- Expert evidence by psychiatrists and psychologists
- Sentencing of offenders with mental illnesses, brain injuries and intellectual disabilities
- Fitness to stand trial under international criminal law
- Civil litigation and complaints against mental health practitioners
- Mental harm litigation
- PTSD in the law
- Prediction of risk evidence
- Syndrome evidence.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have examined the legal and theoretical issues underlying the use of coercion in mental health and intellectual disability law
- Have an advanced and integrated understanding of involuntary inpatient and outpatient orders
- Be familiar with the taxonomies of diagnosis in the courts and able to explain them to people from a different background
- Have a sophisticated appreciation of issues surrounding fitness to stand trial and insanity/mental impairment, including under international criminal law
- Have an advanced knowledge of the law relating to expert evidence by psychiatrists and psychologists
- Have examined issues relating to mental harm litigation
- Have critically examined the forensic relevance of conditions such as PTSD; Autism Spectrum Disorder, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and Intellectual Disability
- Understand the significance of risk prediction evidence and criminal profiling evidence; and syndrome evidence
- Be able to provide a detailed critique of the concept of therapeutic jurisprudence and its practical operation.
Last updated: 12 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 12 November 2022
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Class presentation | 10% | |
Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 23 November 2022 | 90% |
| Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance. Note: the attendance hurdle does not apply when the subject is delivered online, however attendance at all live online sessions is expected. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 12 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- September - Online
Principal coordinator Ian Freckelton Mode of delivery Online Contact hours Online classes will be held Saturday 17 September, Sunday 18 September, Saturday 24 September and Sunday 25 September. Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 20 August 2022 Pre teaching requirements Please refer to the Reading Guide on the LMS subject page for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 17 September 2022 to 25 September 2022 Last self-enrol date 25 August 2022 Census date 19 September 2022 Last date to withdraw without fail 21 October 2022 Assessment period ends 23 November 2022 September contact information
Lecturer
Professor Ian Freckelton AO QC (Coordinator)
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Additional delivery details
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a 'first in' basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of waitlisted places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Melbourne Law School may reserve places in a subject for incoming international cohorts or where a subject is core to a specialisation with limited alternate options.
Last updated: 12 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
- I Freckelton, Expert Evidence: Law, Practice, Procedure and Advocacy (Thomson Reuters, 6e, 2019); and
- Specialist materials will be made available via the LMS in the pre-teaching period.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies Course Juris Doctor Course Master of Laws Course Master of Health and Medical Law Course Graduate Diploma in Health and Medical Law - Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-masters@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 12 November 2022