Abstract
Objective: To examine the likely utility of the recently published Australian and New Zealand clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of depression.
Method: The guidelines are critiqued for their intrinsic logic and their success in extracting potentially valid and useful management templates.
Results: This paper provides examples of key limitations to many specific interpretations and conclusions.
Conclusions: It is argued that these guidelines are far less precise and informative for clinical practice than they appear and with a disturbing lack of rigour for a document promulgated by a professional college.