Failure to Care for a Psychiatrically Ill Child: Provision of Necessaries as a Criminal Offence: Nielsen v The Queen [2001] QCA 85; (2001) 121 A Crim R 239

The 2001 decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal in Nielsen v The Queen (2001 QCA 85; [2001)] 121 A Crim R 239), in which a mother and stepfather were convicted for failure to supply “necessaries” to a vulnerable young woman with schizophrenia, raises many complex contemporary issues for the law and psychiatry. This article contextualises the circumstances in which the victim was denied what she required to maintain physical and mental health, as well as dignity, and explores the potential repercussions of the liberal approach adopted by the appellate court.