Defining madness / Peter Shea.

Sydney : Hawkins Pr, 1999.

21188

Mental health -- New South Wales.

Mental health -- New South Wales -- History.

Mental health -- Law and legislation -- New South Wales.

Introduction

Definitions

1788-1843

1843-1898

1898-1958

1958-1982

1982-1983

1983-1990

1990-1997

The future.

The central point of tension in mental health legislation is the need to balance an individual's right, in normal circumstances, to liberty and privacy, with the need to protect the general community. In Australia that debate has been conducted largely through the definition of a "mentally ill person". Dr Shea charts the changes to the definition from Lunacy Act 1843 to the 1997 amendments to the Mental Health Act 1990, discussing not only the various statutory provisions but also the numerous committee reports and parliamentary debates in which the issue is explored.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1876067128

9781876067120

x, 158 p.