New Zealand Acts

INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY (COMPULSORY CARE AND REHABILITATION) ACT 2003

- As at 1 August 2025
- Act 116 of 2003

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

   1.      Title

   PART 1 - Preliminary provisions

   2.      Commencement
   3.      Purposes
   4.      Outline
   5.      Interpretation
   6.      Meaning of care recipient and related terms
   7.      Meaning of intellectual disability
   8.      Persons who do not have intellectual disability
   9.      Meaning of facility and secure facility
   9A.     Transitional, savings, and related provisions
   10.     Act binds the Crown

   PART 2 - Principles and general duties

   11.     Principles governing exercise of powers under this Act
   12.     Principles governing decisions affecting children and young persons
   13.     Powers to be exercised with proper respect for cultural identity and personal beliefs
   14.     Interpreters to be provided

   PART 3 - Needs assessments and care and rehabilitation plans

   15.     Needs assessments required for certain care recipients
   16.     Purposes of needs assessment
   17.     When needs assessment process to be commenced
   18.     How needs assessment process to be commenced
   19.     Maximum period for needs assessment and preparation of care and rehabilitation plan
   20.     Co-ordinator to consult assessors
   21.     Co-ordinator to consult with persons concerned with welfare of care recipient
   22.     Case conferences
   23.     Cultural assessment
   24.     Care and rehabilitation plan to be prepared for care recipient
   25.     Care and rehabilitation plan to identify personal needs of care recipients
   26.     Care programme
   27.     Other matters
   28.     Care and rehabilitation plan may be varied

   PART 4 - Compulsory care and rehabilitation ofprisonersand former special patients
   Note

           SUBPART 1 - Assessment ofprisonersand former special patients
           Note

   29.     Application for assessment of prisoner or former special patient
   30.     Matters to be stated in application
   31.     Application to be accompanied by certificate
   32.     Arrangements for assessment
   33.     Assessment of child or young person
   34.     Timing for, and place of, assessment
   35.     Proposed care recipients may have to stay in facility
   36.     Prisoners to appear in court
   37.     Assessment examination
   38.     Result of assessment

           SUBPART 2 - Compulsory care orders forprisonersand former special patients
           Note

   39.     Conditions for applications under this subpart
   40.     Matters to be set out in application
   41.     Judge to examine proposed care recipient
   42.     Visiting Judge may order withdrawal of application
   43.     Visiting Judge, wherever possible, to hear application
   44.     Court to consider proposed care recipient's condition
   45.     Jurisdiction to make compulsory care order
   46.     Term of compulsory care order

   PART 5 - Status and rights of care recipients

           SUBPART 1 - General status and specific rights

   47.     Requirement to accept care
   48.     Care recipients are consumers under Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights
   49.     General rights to information
   50.     Respect for cultural identity
   51.     Medical treatment
   52.     Rights in case of visual or audio recording
   53.     Right to independent health and disability advice
   54.     Right to legal advice
   55.     Right to company
   56.     Right to receive visitors and communicate orally with persons outside facility
   57.     Right to receive and send written communications and other items
   58.     Written communications or other items not to be intercepted if sent by or to certain office holders
   59.     Procedure where written communications or other items intercepted

           SUBPART 2 - Specific powers exercisable over care recipients

   60.     Seclusion
   61.     Restraint of care recipients
   62.     Enforced medical treatment
   62A.    Collection of biometric information from special care recipients

           SUBPART 3 - Requirement to stay in designated facilities or places

   63.     Designation notices relating to secure care
   64.     Directions relating to supervised care
   65.     Care manager may grant leave
   65A.    When victims must be notified of impending decision under section 65
   65B.    Right of victims to make submissions on proposed leave
   65C.    Submissions from certain victims
   65D.    Victims must be notified of decisions made under section 65
   65E.    Information about victims not to be disclosed
   66.     Minister may authorise leave for special care recipients
   67.     Director-General may authorise short-term leave
   67A.    Special care recipients not to leave secure facility or depart from New Zealand without permission
   67B.    When victims must be notified of impending decision under section 66
   67C.    When victims must be notified of impending decision under section 67
   67D.    Right of victims to make submissions on proposed leave
   67E.    Submissions from certain victims
   67F.    Victims must be notified of decisions made under section 66
   67G.    Victims must be notified of decisions made under section 67
   67H.    Information about victims not to be disclosed

           SUBPART 4 - Status of special care recipients subject to sentences

   68.     When liability to detention under sentence ceases
   69.     Relationship between detention in secure facility and sentence
   70.     Care recipient whose status changes under section 69 to be held in secure care
   71.     Former care recipients subject to sentence to be taken to prison

   PART 6 - Reviews of condition and status of care recipients

           SUBPART 1 - Initial review of care and rehabilitation plan or compulsory care order

   72.     Co-ordinator to report to Family Court on appropriateness of order and plan
   73.     Co-ordinator must send copy of report to certain persons
   74.     Review by Family Court
   75.     Family Court may call for reports
   76.     Family Court may make recommendations

           SUBPART 2 - Condition of every care recipient to be reviewed

   77.     Regular clinical reviews of care recipients
   78.     Reviews undertaken by specialist assessors
   79.     Specialist assessor to issue certificate
   80.     Specialist assessor to send certificate and reports to certain persons
   81.     Co-ordinator to send copy of certificate to certain persons

           SUBPART 3 - Change in status of care recipient no longer subject to criminal justice system and special care recipients liable to detention under sentence

   82.     Form of clinical review certificate for care recipients no longer subject to criminal justice system and care recipients liable to detention under sentence
   83.     Status on expiry of term of compulsory care order
   84.     Cancellation of court orders of certain care recipients
   85.     Extension of compulsory care order
   86.     Co-ordinator may seek variation of compulsory care order
   87.     Court may defer expiry of order if application for extension pending
   88.     Co-ordinator and court to have regard to specialist assessor's certificate

           SUBPART 4 - Status of certain special care recipients

   89.     Form of clinical review certificate for special care recipients detained because unfit to stand trial
   90.     Attorney-General to be notified if special care recipient considered fit to stand trial
   91.     Ministers to be notified if care for person as special care recipient considered no longer necessary
   92.     Form of clinical review certificate for special care recipients detained because acquitted on account of insanity
   93.     Where person considered not to require further care as special care recipient
   94.     Status of special care recipients found unfit to stand trial or insane

   PART 7 - Inspections and inquiries

           SUBPART 1 - Inspections, investigations, and inquiries by district inspectors

   95.     Visits by district inspectors
   96.     Inspectors' access to persons and documents
   97.     Complaint of breach of rights
   98.     Investigation by district inspector
   99.     Care recipient to be informed of outcome of investigation
   100.    Duty of care manager to put things right
   101.    Inquiries by district inspector

           SUBPART 2 - Inquiry by High Court Judge

   102.    Judge may call for report on care recipient or summon care recipient
   103.    Judge may summon witnesses
   104.    Judge may release care recipient no longer subject to criminal justice system
   105.    Orders Judge may make in relation to special care recipient detained because unfit to stand trial
   106.    Orders Judge may make in relation to special care recipient detained because acquitted on account of insanity
   107.    Judge may report to Minister
   108.    Other remedies still available

   PART 8 - Authority to take and detain care recipients

   109.    Authority to admit and detain under orders
   110.    Meaning of care recipient who has escaped
   111.    Power to retake care recipient absent without authority
   112.    Warrant to enter and search places to retake escaped care recipients
   113.    Entry of place without warrant
   114.    Matters to be observed when place entered
   115.    Matters of justification or excuse

   PART 9 - Procedural provisions

   116.    Jurisdiction of Family Court
   117.    Persons entitled to be heard on applications
   118.    Specialist assessors and care managers entitled to appear and be heard on certain applications
   119.    Entitlement to be served with application
   120.    Obligations of district inspector on receiving copy of application
   121.    Attendance at hearing by care recipient and person in support
   122.    Excusing or excluding care recipient
   123.    Representation of persons entitled to be heard, and special rights of care recipient
   124.    Appointment by court of lawyer to represent care recipient
   125.    Court may call for report on care recipient
   126.    Evidence on report
   127.    Court not bound by rules of evidence
   128.    Power of court to call witnesses
   129.    Proceedings not open to public
   130.    Publication of reports of proceedings
   131.    Court may dispense with hearing in certain circumstances
   132.    Care recipient to be given copy of order
   133.    Appeals from decisions of Family Court
   134.    Further appeal to Court of Appeal
   135.    Orders stay in force during appeal

   PART 10 - Relationship with other Acts

   136.    Application to mentally disordered persons
   137.    Orders under Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988
   138.    Orders under Oranga Tamariki Act 1989
   139.    Certain orders under Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003 prevail over orders under this Act

   PART 11 - Administration

   140.    Compulsory care co-ordinators
   141.    Designation of care manager
   142.    Co-ordinator or care manager may delegate powers
   143.    Status of delegations
   144.    Designation of district inspectors
   145.    No proceedings against district inspectors unless bad faith shown
   146.    Designation of specialist assessors and medical consultants
   147.    Director-General of Health may call for reports
   147A.   Crimes of Torture Act 1989 not limited
   148.    Director-General may promulgate guidelines and standards
   149.    Rules
   150.    Regulations
           SCHEDULE 1