HHG - [2015] QCAT 319

CITATION:	HHG [2015] QCAT 319
PARTIES:	HHG
APPLICATION NUMBER:	GAA5174-15 GAA5176-15

MATTER TYPE:

Guardianship and administration matters for adults

HEARING DATE:

15 June 2015

HEARD AT:

Brisbane

DECISION OF:

Senior Member Endicott

DELIVERED ON:

15 June 2015

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

ORDERS MADE:

1. The application for appointment of a guardian is dismissed.

2. HUS is appointed as the administrator for all financial matters for HHG.

3. The financial management plan dated 29 April 2015 is approved.

4. The Tribunal grants the administrator a full exemption from the requirement to provide accounts to the Tribunal.

5. The appointment of the administrator is not reviewable and will come to an end on 15 December 2015.

CATCHWORDS:

GUARDIANSHIP – where adult has impaired decision-making capacity for personal and financial matters, where decisions needed about assets owned by the adult in Queensland

EXTRA-TERRITORIAL REACH – where adult’s domicile is outside Queensland, where adult does not reside in Queensland – whether sufficient connection to Queensland to base jurisdiction in Tribunal to appoint guardian and administrator

Acts Interpretation Act 1954 (Qld) ss9 and 35(1)(b)

Jumbunna Coal Mine No Liability v Victorian Coal Miners’ Association (1908) 6 CLR 309
Welker v Hewett [1969] HCA 53

APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):

This matter was heard and determined on the papers pursuant to s 32 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (Qld) (QCAT Act).

REASONS FOR DECISION

HHG has lived in the United State of America for 35 years with her husband, HUS. She has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dementia and is in a late stage of that condition. She is bedbound and non-responsive.
HHG has some funds in a bank account in Queensland. She needs to access those funds to help meet her current care costs. Her husband is her attorney for financial matters under an Enduring Power of Attorney made in the United States. He has asked his wife’s Queensland bank to remit the funds in her bank account to their joint bank account in the United States.
The bank has declined this request on the basis that HUS’s authority as attorney for HHG is not recognised in Queensland. It is clear that HHG can no longer personally give instructions to her bank. HUS has applied to QCAT for appointment as the guardian and administrator in Queensland for HHG so he can lawfully give instructions to the bank based in Queensland to remit HHG’s funds to the United States for her use.
QCAT has power to make orders appointing guardians and administrators for a person under the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 (Qld). Under section 12 of that Act, appointments can be made if QCAT is satisfied by the evidence that the person in question has impaired decision-making capacity, that there are decisions that need to be made for that person and that the decision-making needs of the person can only be adequately met if a guardian and/or an administrator is appointed by the Tribunal.
A report by Dr Elisa Santoz dated 29 January…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading HHG

Details

AGLC: HHG [2015] QCAT 319
Case: [2015] QCAT 319
Decision Date: 15 June 2015

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case involving HHG, the primary concern was the need for a guardian and administrator for an adult who had impaired decision-making capacity in both personal and financial matters. The dispute arose due to the need to manage the assets owned by HHG in Queensland, despite HHG’s domicile and residence being outside Queensland. The matter was brought before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).

The central legal issues before the court were whether the Tribunal had the necessary jurisdiction to appoint a guardian and administrator for HHG, given that HHG's domicile and residence were outside Queensland, and whether there was a sufficient connection to Queensland to justify the Tribunal's extra-territorial jurisdiction. This required an examination of the statutory provisions governing guardianship and administration in Queensland, particularly in relation to individuals who do not reside within the state.

In its decision, the Tribunal found that the adult’s domicile and residence outside Queensland, along with the absence of significant ties to Queensland, meant there was insufficient connection to warrant the Tribunal's jurisdiction to appoint a guardian. However, the Tribunal did find that it had jurisdiction to appoint an administrator for HHG’s financial matters due to the presence of assets in Queensland. Consequently, the application for the appointment of a guardian was dismissed, but HUS was appointed as the administrator for all financial matters concerning HHG. Additionally, the Tribunal approved the financial management plan dated 29 April 2015, granted the administrator a full exemption from the requirement to provide accounts to the Tribunal, and stipulated that the appointment of the administrator would not be reviewable and would terminate on 15 December 2015.

Orders

Orders of the court

1. The application for appointment of a guardian is dismissed.

2. HUS is appointed as the administrator for all financial matters for HHG.

3. The financial management plan dated 29 April 2015 is approved.

4. The Tribunal grants the administrator a full exemption from the requirement to provide accounts to the Tribunal.

5. The appointment of the administrator is not reviewable and will come to an end on 15 December 2015.

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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