Understaffed NT forensic mental health team leaving vulnerable Territorians in cells

Territorians likely to be found not guilty of their charges are being kept in prison due to a ‘backlog’ of health reports.

On Thursday deputy Chief Judge Tanya Fong Lim heard there was no one staffed from the forensic mental health team who could provide reports to the Darwin Local Court, despite 47 Mental Health Diversion list matters set for that day.

A “backlog” of forensic reports and understaffing has resulted in vulnerable Territorians being left to languish in a cell, despite a likely not-guilty verdict.

On Thursday, deputy Chief Judge Tanya Fong Lim heard there was no one staffed from the forensic mental health team who could provide reports to the Darwin Local Court, despite 47 Mental Health Diversion list matters set for that day.

A Health Department representative told Ms Fong Lim that there were just two Top End specialists who could prepare court reports, but both were on holiday leave — and no court report writers appointed for Alice Springs.

The admin officer told the court: “understaffing, it’s causing a major, major issue for us”.

“We’re trying to do our best,” she said.

“At this point, we have no one.”

Ms Fong Lim raised her concerns that many Territorians with mental health issues had spent “a fair amount of time” in prison awaiting reports, which could be used to assess their bail or even help them be found not guilty by reason of mental impairment.

A report for one young woman, charged with assault and bail breaches, had said she was suffering from a long period of “psychosis” during her offending.

Her defence lawyer said a 2024 report had concluded her illness materially contributed to her actions, and she could be found not guilty by reason of mental impairment.

However, because of a request for further information, Ms Fong Lim had to keep the woman in prison for a further three weeks until staff were back to complete her report.

Deputy Chief Judge Tanya Fong Lim heard there was no one staffed from the forensic mental health team who could provide reports to the Darwin Local Court, despite 47 Mental Health Diversion list matters set for that day. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

This masthead understands that a full mental health report takes a minimum of six weeks to prepare, and it was feared the backlog of cases would further blow out wait times for vulnerable prisoners.

Outside the court a defence lawyer said delays to reports would result in vulnerable people being left in the overcrowded prison “where there aren’t the resources in place to support them”.

“I don’t think it’s safe for people who are in custody, the people with mental health difficulties, I don’t think it’s safe for the other people in custody either,” they said.

“It’s a fraught situation.”

“Everyone is working the best they can, we are working in … an entirely broken system.

“Plainly everyone has been pushed to their limits”.

They said in particular the absence of a forensic specialist for Alice Springs prison was “significantly concerning”.

Criminal Lawyers Association NT committee member Jackson Meaney called for the proper resourcing of the forensic mental health team to deal with the 2620 people in prison.

Criminal Lawyers Association NT committee member Jackson Meaney called for the proper resourcing of the forensic mental health team to deal with the 2620 people in prison, as well as the many people out in the community.

“These are people where their charges might ultimately be dismissed,” he said.

Mr Meaney said the current overcrowding in the prisons would only see their mental health deteriorate, which was clear from clients he had seen in the local court cells who were “incredibly distressed, screaming and agitated”.

Indeed the first day that tough new bail laws were brought in, Territorians could be heard howling, yelling and banging against their metal cells in the Darwin Local Court on Monday.

Ultimately, Mr Meaney said too many critically unwell people were being arrested, rather than being treated in the community or being assessed by mental health responders.

He said while there were some co-response teams — partnering mental health workers with police — too often cops were dealing with unwell people in extreme emotional distress.

He said unlike paramedics who had the appropriate “health lens” and medications, police “probably (have) all the wrong tools for dealing with someone that has a mental illness and is acting in an aggressive and threatening manner”.

The NT Police review found that over 12 months, cops spent 2291 hours in overtime responding to mental health incidents.

“Unmanageable work pressures (on general duties officers) were often explained as not only due to insufficient staffing numbers but also the requirement to be the first contact point for all community issues,” the report said.

A NT Health spokesman said over the past few months the demand for forensic mental health services had increased.

“NT Health continually reviews and adjusts staffing levels based on service needs, noting not all prisoners require access to mental health reporting,” he said.

A 2023 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report found 51 per cent of prison entrants reported a previous diagnosis of a mental health disorder, including drug and alcohol abuse.

While Territory Family estimated 75 per cent of kids in detention had one or more psychiatric disorder and almost all were expected to have a neurodevelopmental impairment.

The Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby was also contacted for comment.

Originally published as Understaffed NT forensic mental health team leaving vulnerable Territorians in cells