Your rights
This information is about your rights.
It has information on
- What your rights are
- Your rights when you get help for your health
- Advocacy
- Where to find more information
Rights are rules about how everybody should be treated fairly.
A right is something everyone has.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a set of rules.
Australia and many other countries have agreed to these rules.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says
- Everyone has the right to have good health
- Everyone has the right to health care
This includes mental health and mental health care.
People with intellectual disability must get good mental health care from doctors and health workers.
Below are your rights when you get support from health services.
This includes mental health services.
You have a right to access health care.
Access means you have the right to get the same health care as other people.
You have a right to safety.
Safety means you have a right to health care that will not hurt you.
You have a right to respect.
Respect means that health workers must listen to
- What you want
- What is important to you
You have a right to dignity.
Dignity is to
- Treat you with respect
- Give you privacy
Privacy means other people cannot see or hear things about you that you do not want them to know.
This could be your medical records.
You have a right to information.
Health workers must give you information about your health in a way you can understand.
You have a right to be included.
You have a right to be included in discussions and decisions about your health care.
You have a right to confidentiality.
Confidentiality means that information about you must not be shared with others unless you say that it is OK to share.
Anything you tell health workers will be kept confidential unless there is a good reason to share information such as
- You say it is OK
- You or other people are in danger
- The law says they must
You have a right to privacy.
You have a right to have your say.
You have a right to choose the type of health care you want.
You have a right to ask questions about your health care.
You have a right to make a complaint if you are not happy with the health care you get.
A complaint is when you tell someone you are not happy with something.
For more information about making complaints
You can find more information about your rights in these fact sheets
- The NSW government has a fact sheet on your health care rights https://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/
pds/ActivePDSDocuments/
PD2011_022.pdf#page=21
- The Council for Intellectual Disability also has a fact sheet on your rights https://cid.org.au/wp-
content/uploads/2021/09/Your-
right-to-good-health-care-Easy-
Read-Fact-Sheet.pdf
The Healthdirect website also has some information and a video on your health care rights.
For more information go to https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/
your-healthcare-rights
For more information about your rights if you have to go to hospital for your mental health or have a CTO go to
A CTO is a Community Treatment Order.
A CTO is a plan for you to get your mental health treatment in the community without having to stay in hospital.
You must follow the rules in the plan.
Advocacy is having your voice heard so your rights and needs are met.
You can have needs in many areas of your life.
Rights are rules about how everybody should be treated fairly.
A right is something everyone has.
You can advocate for yourself or others.
To advocate is you or someone else doing things so that your rights and needs are met.
You may want to find an advocate to help you speak up for your rights.
You may need to advocate if you
- Cannot find support for your mental health
- Are not happy with the service you are getting
For more information about advocacy and how you can advocate go to https://www.idmhconnect.health/
about-advocacy/ER
For more information about making complaints use this Easy Read sheet
https://www.3dn.unsw.edu.au/sites/
default/files/documents/
3DN_Complaints_
MentalHealth_ERv1.pdf
The Healthdirect website also has some information and a video on your health care rights.
For more information go to https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/your-healthcare-rights
For more information about your rights if you have to go to hospital for your mental health or have a CTO go to
https://www.3dn.unsw.edu.au/
consumers_rights
You can find more information about your rights in these fact sheets
- The NSW government has a fact sheet on your health care rights https://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/
pds/ActivePDSDocuments/
PD2011_022.pdf#page=21
- The Council for Intellectual Disability also has a fact sheet on your rights https://cid.org.au/wp-
content/uploads/2021/09/Your-
right-to-good-health-care-Easy-
Read-Fact-Sheet.pdf
There are some tricky words on this Easy Read page.
For more information about these words go to