LawSense Law for Mental Health Practitioners 2025 – AI, Cases, Notes, Subpoenas/Requests, Court Appearances

Benefit from Key Case Updates and Insight, Practical Perspectives and Senior Lawyers & Practitioners

DateTwo Sessions: 30 May & 6 June 2025
TimeSession 1: 30 May 2025, 12.00pm-3.20pm AEST (Syd/Melb/Bris time)
Session 2: 6 June 2025, 12.00pm-2.25pm AEST (Syd/Melb/Bris time)
VenueLive Online with recording (recording access expires 6 July 2025)
Pricing$440
Price includes gst.
CPDIncludes availability for psychologists
Other related LawSense EventsLawSense Law for Mental Health Practitioners – Reporting Obligations NSW

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Program

 
SESSION 1: Friday, 30 May 2025

 

12.00    LawSense Welcome

12.05    Chairperson’s Introduction

12.10    AI Update: Understanding Evolving AI Use Options for Mental Health Practitioners, Ensuring Legal Compliance and Managing Risk

Reviewing AI Applications for Mental Health Practitioners Including for Efficiency and Usefulness, Security, Privacy, Storage Practices and Use of Data

  • Exploring AI applications used by mental health practitioners for note taking, treatment plans and reports, meetings and other functions
  • Reviewing the current AI applications:
    • how do they operate to provide benefits and efficiencies to mental health practitioners
    • examining how/where do the applications store and use data, what data protections to they have in place:
  • Understanding how the applications are evolving and how this could affect mental health practice in the short and medium term

Ensuring Legal Compliance in Using AI – Navigating Rights, Obligations and Risks with Different Applications

Privacy, Legal and Compliance Requirements

  • Understanding options to use AI for generating notes, treatment plans and reports in mental health practice and how some clinicians are currently using the technology
  • Examining current legal and risk issues in using AI:
    • privacy and data use risks
    • accuracy/reliability
    • contractual terms of AI software/service providers
  • Understanding the application of existing law and regulation, including:
    • privacy and confidentiality, including privacy reforms
    • surveillance laws, use of recordings
    • contractual requirements in a platform’s terms of service, including examining the terms of
    • understanding The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics Framework and application to practitioners

Reviewing Some Available AI Applications for Compliance and Legal Risk

  • Running the privacy and legal compliance “ruler” over some AI applications currently available to practitioners – can you use them in a legally compliant way, what changes or “work-arounds” should you implement or request?

Examining Questions to Check / Ask AI Suppliers and Implementing Effective AI Policies

  • Examining key requirements or questions to ask of AI supplier to optimise legal compliance and risk management
  • Exploring optimal AI policies for mental health practice to implement

Sam Burrett, AI Lead – Client Solutions, MinterEllison

Chelsea Gordon, Senior Associate, MinterEllison

1.10      Case Studies and Analysis: Includes Assessment, Testing, Treatment, and Evidence Required to Use Emerging or Updated Therapies

This session examines several instructive cases in two main areas: prosecution or criticism of practitioners where assessment, treatment and testing allegedly fell short, and use of emerging therapies.  The session will also explore implementing best practice in these areas, with input from a lawyer and senior practitioner

Application of Cases to Different Practitioners

  • Outlining how cases can apply to and guide different mental health practitioners, including counsellors and psychotherapists

Assessments, Treatment and Testing Challenged by AHPRA

  • Inappropriate use of testing, criticism of assessment:
    • Psychology Board of Australia v Freeman (No 3) [2017] QCAT 462 – whether practitioner considered symptoms in making assessment, expert witness disagreed with registrant’s assessment
    • Mustac v Medical Board of WA [2004] WASCA 156 Psychometric testing – whether practitioner guilty of gross carelessness or incompetency
    • NPD v Psychology Board of Australia [2024] QCAT 203
    • Psychology Board of Australia v Keevy [2024] VCAT 529 – alleged substandard care – alleged lack of clear objectives, communications were not professional nor structured in nature. Professional boundaries were lax or non‐existent and overuse of self-disclosure appeared evident
    • Psychology Board of Australia v McEvoy [2017] QCAT 473 – alleged lack of detailed and cohesive plan for therapy, failure to instigate measurable goals, failure to perform any standardised or formal assessments following initial assessments

Using Emerging Therapies – Understanding Required Evidence of Efficacy and Navigating Risks

  • Outlining a practitioner’s duty of care and professional obligations in selecting and applying therapies
  • Understanding the extent of evidence of efficacy required before you implement a new or emerging therapy or test
  • Learnings from case studies and scenarios, including Psychology Board of Australia v Dunne [2023] QCAT 242 and Psychology Board of Australia v Meulblok [2020] VCAT 579

Edward Smith, Partner, Wotton + Kearney Lawyers

2.10      Break

2.15      Case Studies: Exploring Best Practice and Defensible Note-Taking – Good Versus Bad Notes

Principles to Apply

  • Outlining key principles to apply in note-taking and record keeping by mental health practitioners, including:
    • level of detail or clarity
    • ensuring you cover key aspects
    • “loaded” words from which inferences could be drawn about the writer
    • recording conversations and dealing with hearsay
    • communications with external professionals
    • recording your hypotheses, investigations, conclusions and setting out the basis of opinions
    • making changes to notes after they were originally written
    • naming or referring to other individuals in case notes
  • Examining how notes should be kept and stored – exploring best practice with emails, texts, hand-written and electronic notes, and social media/web

Learnings from Examples / Case Studies and AHPRA Perspectives – Good v Bad Notes

  • Exploring best practice note-taking and good versus not so good notes in particular areas:
    • sexualised behaviours/assault
    • anxiety, self-harm
    • case management of complex matters

Dr Tim Lowry, Clinical & Forensic Psychologist, Silverton Psychology Group; Statewide Program Coordinator: Forensic Liaison and Community Forensic Networks, Queensland Forensic Mental Health Service

3.15      Closing Remarks

3.20      Event Close

 

SESSION 2: Friday, 6 June 2025

 

12.00    LawSense Welcome

12.05    Chairperson’s Introduction

12.10    Effectively Navigating Subpoenas, Preparing for Giving Evidence in Court and Defending Your Reports or Treatment

Objecting to Subpoenas to Produce Documents or Give Evidence

  • Exploring common circumstances where practitioners receive subpoenas to produce documents or subpoenas to give evidence
  • Examining key considerations in deciding to object to a subpoena
  • Understanding options to legally object to a subpoena, including:
    • objections on the basis of privilege or where sexual assault is involved
    • using provisions for Family Dispute Resolution practitioners under the Family Law Act
    • objection to what appears to be a “fishing expedition”?
    • “oppressive” subpoenas
    • seeking for parts of documents to be blacked out / redacted
    • seeking that access only be limited to the lawyers of the parties

Preparing to Give Evidence, Defending Your Reports, Notes or Treatment

  • Reviewing common Courts and Tribunals practitioners may interact with and exploring circumstances where a practitioner may be called to give evidence
  • Understanding key court processes – evidence in chief, cross-examination, re-examination and submissions
  • Understanding how a practitioner’s assessment, treatment, notes or reporting can be scrutinised in a Court even where they are not a party to the proceedings
  • Preparing to give evidence:
    • clarifying your role, what the Court and the lawyers are seeking from you
    • optimising your preparation – what to review, consider and practice
  • Defending your reports:
    • understanding how a Court considers and weighs up treatment and assessment reports from practitioners, including how the Court deals with contradictory options from different practitioners
    • examining when practitioners are called upon to give evidence about or “defend” their reports
    • navigating pitfalls and exploring case studies of how practitioner reports have been opposed or discredited in Court proceedings

Mark Attard, Partner, Kennedys Law

1.10      Break

1.20      Navigating Your Rights and Obligations in Responding to Information Requests Including Requests from WorkCover, Regulators, Insurers, Lawyers, Clients/Patients and Coroners

Outlining Rights and Obligations

  • Understanding the rights and obligations relevant to different types of information requests/processes:
    • WorkCover or other insurance organisations
    • Safety regulators or AHPRA
    • Requests from third parties, including lawyers with a written client/patient consent
    • Client/patient requests for their records
    • Coroner’s Court

Consent from the Patient/Client

  • Managing circumstances where you receive a request for information from a third party who provides a written consent from the client / patient:
    • should you seek your own written consent from the client/patient before releasing the files/information?
    • what if you are concerned the consent is not properly informed or the client/patient does not appreciate the implications or potential consequences of providing consent?

Requests from Current or Former Clients/Patients

  • Examining the limits of information or records you must provide the client/patient – when is it reasonable to decline a request? Should “internal” documents be provided?

Kylie Agland, Partner, HWL Ebsworth Lawyers

2.20      Closing Remarks

2.25      Event Close

Presenters / panelists include:

Edward Smith practises solely in health law and represents medical and allied health practitioners in the full range of issues affecting the sector. Edward’s expertise includes litigated medical negligence proceedings, coronial inquests, regulatory and disciplinary matters, employment disputes and criminal proceedings. Edward has acted extensively for mental health clinicians and organisations, including defending psychologists in Tribunal proceedings by the Psychology Board of Australia, and acting for psychiatrists, psychologists, the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health and North Western Mental Health in coronial and medical negligence proceedings.
Dr Tim Lowry is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from the University of Queensland, and has completed additional postgraduate training in forensic mental health, public health, and health services management. Tim possesses substantial experience in forensic mental health, psychological risk assessment, and intervention, having worked across both public and private practice settings over the past 24 years. For over 14 years he has been employed in the QLD Forensic Mental Health Service, QLD Health, with concurrent part time clinical and forensic psychology private practice seeing adults, couples, and adolescents, as well as offenders
Mark Attard has over 25 years of experience acting for Australian and London Market insurers, in the area of professional indemnity and general insurance. Mark has been consistently recognised for insurance law in Best Lawyers Australia between 2013-2021. Mark was also recognised in the 2021 edition of Best Lawyers Australia as "Lawyer Of The Year" for "Insurance Law". Mark has a significant health practitioner practice representing practitioners before AHPRA and the HCC. Dealing with a range of issues including boundary transgressions, privacy, patient care, data breach and coronial inquests.
Kylie Agland has over 21 years of experience exclusively as a health industry lawyer. Her primary expertise is medical defence litigation. Kylie specialises in Supreme Court litigation involving major claims. Kylie has published numerous articles for the Health Business journal and also for the Australian Health Law Bulletin. Kylie has been named in Best Lawyers™ Australia for Medical Negligence.

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