Forensic Psychiatry and Mental Health in Australia: An Overview

Chapter 7 - Forensic Psychiatry and Mental Health in Australia: An Overview

from Part I - Introduction/Description of the Problem

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 October 2021

Andrew Ellis

Edited by

Katherine Warburton and

Stephen M. Stahl

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Katherine Warburton: Affiliation:
University of California, Davis
Stephen M. Stahl: Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego

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Summary

The indigenous inhabitants of the Australian continent arrived approximately 65,000 years ago. Issues of mental illness and criminal responsibility prior to European arrival are not well known by current professionals. The continent is now home to the Commonwealth of Australia, a parliamentary democracy, established in 1901 following land claims by Britain that began in 1788. The Commonwealth is a federation of six states and two territories that were originally colonies of Britain. The first British colony in Sydney, New South Wales was a penal settlement, which perhaps set the tone for development of forensic mental health services across the country as developing as an offshoot from prison services. Forensic mental health services have been reviewed before, and more recent developments are covered.

Type: Chapter
Information: Decriminalizing Mental Illness , pp. 60 - 63

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108920698 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2021

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