Author/Editor: Deeble Institute - Ms Sandra L Matheson, Ms Alana M. Shepherd, Prof Vaughan J. Carr, Dr Anne-marie Boxall and Mr Krister H. Partel        

Under Australian mental health laws, an Obligatory Dangerousness Criterion is used as the means by which patients are assessed for the appropriateness of involuntary (compulsory) treatment. While developed to balance the rights of the mentally ill with the need to protect the public, some experts have begun to raise questions about its utility.