Mental Health (Secure Facilities) Act 2016

The director-general may, at any time, direct an authorised person to conduct a scanning search, frisk search or ordinary search of a visitor entering, or in, a secure mental health facility if the director‑general believes on reasonable grounds that it is prudent to conduct the search to protect—

the safety of anyone at the secure mental health facility; or

security or good order at the secure mental health facility.

Note Frisk search, ordinary search and scanning search—see s 39.

Also, an authorised person may conduct a scanning search, frisk search or ordinary search of a visitor in a secure mental health facility if the authorised person suspects on reasonable grounds that the visitor is carrying—

a prohibited thing; or

anything else that creates, or is likely to create, a risk to—

the personal safety of a patient or anyone else; or

security or good order at the secure mental health facility.

An authorised person must not search the visitor or the visitor’s personal property without the visitor’s consent.

A visitor may refuse or withdraw consent and have the search discontinued at any time.

If the visitor refuses to allow an authorised person to search the visitor or, if the search has started, withdraws consent, the authorised person may—

if the visitor is entering (or about to enter) the secure mental health facility—refuse to allow the visitor to enter the facility; or

if the visitor is in the facility—direct the visitor to leave the facility.

This section does not apply to—

personal property that a visitor leaves in a secure place provided at the entrance to a secure mental health facility; or

anything for which a visitor has the director-general’s approval to take into a secure mental health facility.

Example par (a)—secure place a lockable cupboard

In this section:

visitor includes a person working at the secure mental health facility.

Examples—worker at approved mental health facility

 staff member

 tradesperson

 health practitioner