The WA government has moved to repeal a controversial law that allows the indefinite detention of people who are deemed too "mentally impaired" to stand trial or be convicted of a crime.
The Criminal Law Mentally Impaired Accused Act has long been criticised by mental health groups and was deemed by the United Nations to breach the rights of people with disabilities.
The law has resulted in cases where people who had not been convicted of crimes were held in jail for unlimited periods.
The new Criminal Law (Mental Impairment) Bill 2022, introduced in WA Parliament on Thursday, would require judges to put a time limit on the amount of time a person could be kept in custody.
Family's relief
End dates would also need to be set on all existing custody orders "as soon as practicable".
John is the father of Perth man Thomas, who has an acquired brain injury and has been subject to a custody order for more than four years.
He said it was "wonderful" to see movement on a new bill after years of torment for his family.
"Without a doubt [the laws] discriminate against mentally impaired people," he said.
"We all know they spend longer in prison than they should be.
"Even [Thomas] says 'Dad why? I would have been out by now'."
Thomas is currently under a community supervision order but was detained in jail for four years prior.
The ABC is using pseudonyms to protect their privacy.
Under the current law, people in Western Australia who are deemed too mentally impaired to stand trial, or acquitted of a crime due to being "unsound of mind," can still be detained on custody orders at the discretion of the attorney-general.
In some cases they remain in jail when they are not approved to live at a "declared place" such as the Bennett Brook Disability Centre, where most of the beds are usually empty.
Unlimited jail time
Some have been detained longer than they would have served had they been convicted and sentenced.
The bill, if passed, would urge judges to align the length of a custody order with the sentence they would have imposed if the person had been convicted.
WA Association for Mental Health chief executive Taryn Harvey said she was excited and relieved that new legislation had been tabled.
"Many, many people have fought for reform to the mentally impaired legislation for many years, pretty much since the legislation was passed in the late '90s," Ms Harvey said.
"So we're very excited."
More changes in new law
The proposed new law would also require annual reviews of custody orders, and provide more avenues of appeal for the accused to make statements and submissions to the courts.
It would introduce new community supervision orders, but does still allow for "extended custody" or community supervision in cases where it is believed there is an unacceptable risk of the person committing a serious offence.
Ms Harvey said developing strong programs that supported people under community supervision would be an important part of implementing any new legislation.
"The thing that sits there for me is wanting to be confident that we're going to ensure that the supports and services are there," she said.
The law would also dictate that "there should be special provision to ensure the fair treatment of children with mental impairment who have been found to have, or are alleged to have, committed offences".
Attorney-General John Quigley said in parliament on Thursday a significant amount of work would be needed to put the law into effect to establish a new tribunal and new types of court hearings, among other changes.
"While implementation planning is well progressed, adequate time is required," he said.
Reforming the law was an election promise made by now-Premier Mark McGowan in 2017.
