NSW Guardianship Application
Guardianship Tribunal Information for NSW Health Professionals
The following information is written for health professionals and gives information about the process of making an application on behalf of an individual for guardianship to the Guardianship Tribunal. Anyone with a genuine interest in the welfare of an individual with a disability can make an application to the Tribunal to determine whether there is a need to make an order to protect the interests of the individual.
Guardianship
.... is the appointment of a person (guardian) to make decisions for an individual with a disability, when they are unable to make decisions for themselves.
The Guardianship Tribunal
The NSW Guardianship Tribunal is an independent legal tribunal established under the Guardianship Act 1987. The main role of the Guardianship Tribunal is to determine applications for the appointment of guardians and/or financial managers for people with disabilities. The Tribunal can also review the guardianship and financial management orders it makes. The Tribunal has a number of other functions and can when required give consent to medical and dental treatment for people 16 years and over who are unable to consent to such treatment for themselves.
The Guardianship Act 1987 requires that substitute decision making be undertaken, only as a last resort, only when necessary and in the best interests of the person involved. The Tribunal will always consider the adequacy of existing informal arrangements that would avoid the need for an order to be made.
The Tribunal will undertake an investigative process and hearing to establish whether a guardian or financial manager needs to be appointed to make decisions for an individual. The Tribunal itself does not make specific guardianship or financial management decisions on behalf of an individual.
The Guardianship Tribunal receives approximately 30 – 40 applications a day and they facilitate on average 6 hearings a day across NSW daily. The most common primary disability described in applications is dementia in 48.2% of cases (2007-2008). Approximately 12- 15% of the annual applications made to the Tribunal are from hospital teams.
- Learn about the Guardianship Tribunal Application Process
- Common Guardianship terminology
- For more information, go to the NSW Guardianship Tribunal website
- Book a NSW Guardianship Tribunal information session
For information on the progress of an application, call the NSW Guardianship Tribunal on 1800 463 928