Disability Service Consumers' Rights The Code of Health and Disability Service Consumers' Rights came into force in 1996. It is subordinate legislation, authorised by the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994. Section 20(1) of the Health and Disability Commissioner Act lays out the matters which the Code should cover. This includes the principle that, with exceptions for enactments or provisions within the Code, no health care procedure shall be carried out without informed consent, the duties and obligations of health care providers and the rights of consumers. Rights under the code Right to be Treated with Respect Right to Freedom from Discrimination, Coercion, Harassment and Exploitation Right to Dignity and Independence Right to Service of an Appropriate Standard Right to Effective Communication Right to be Fully Informed Right to Make an Informed Choice and Give Informed Consent Right to Support Rights in respect of Teaching and Research Right to Complain. Whilst the Code was introduced after the Mental Health (Compulsory Treatment and Assessment) Act, the two are not in conflict. As stated in Clause 5, “Nothing in [the] Code shall require a provider to act in breach of any legal obligation or duty imposed by any other enactment or prevent a provider doing an act authorised by any other enactment”. According to Sylvia Bell, “The real value of the code in a psychiatric context is that it affirms the duty of providers to ensure that clinical processes are exercised in a professional manner, and proper deference is paid by clinicians and mental health workers to the human rights of patients”. Mental Health (Compulsory Treatment and Assessment) Act 1992 According to John Dawson, "The new Act is a compromise between competing demands - for rapid access to treatment in genuine emergencies, for greater respect for patients' dignity, for adherence to fairer procedures in mental health proceedings, and for the continued protection of families and the public from genuinely 'dangerous' people." Patients can be compulsorily treated for mental illness under the Act. Part 1 allows for the compulsory assessment and treatment of a patient. Section 8 states that any person may apply to the Director of Area Mental Health Services (DAHMS) for the assessment of someone believed to be experiencing mental illness. Section 8B states that this application must be accompanied by a certificate from a medical professional who believes the person has a mental disorder. An assessment will then be arranged