HMA
[2013] QCAT 369
•10 July 2013
| CITATION: | HMA [2013] QCAT 369 |
| PARTIES: | HMA |
| APPLICATION NUMBER: | GAA5468-13 |
| MATTER TYPE: | Guardianship and administration matters for adults |
| HEARING DATE: | On the papers |
| HEARD AT: | Brisbane |
| DECISION OF: | Clare Endicott, Senior Member |
| DELIVERED ON: | 10 July 2013 |
| DELIVERED AT: | Brisbane |
| ORDERS MADE: | 1. The application for an interim order is dismissed. |
| CATCHWORDS: | GUARDIANSHIP – where interim appointment of administrator sought – where adult placed into aged care facility – where no immediate risk of harm to adult’s property established Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 s 129 |
APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):
This matter was heard and determined on the papers pursuant to section 32 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (QCAT Act).
REASONS FOR DECISION
HMA has been diagnosed with dementia which has resulted in a moderate-severe cognitive impairment. She had been an inpatient in a hospital in Canberra until her family arranged for her to be relocated to Brisbane. HMA now resides in an aged care facility.
Her son has applied to QCAT for the appointment of guardians and administrators for HMA. The proposed appointees are her two daughters and her son.
QCAT has the power to appoint decision makers for adults with impaired decision making capacity. Appointments of decision makers are made after a hearing of the application and when the presumption of capacity has been rebutted. However QCAT can make an appointment of a decision maker on an interim basis for up to three months under section 129 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 without a hearing and without deciding whether or not a person has impaired decision making capacity.
The applicant had sought an interim appointment of the administrators before the hearing of the application by QCAT. Section 129 permits the tribunal to make an interim appointment if the tribunal is satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that there is an immediate risk of harm to the welfare or property of the adult concerned.
The applicant was asked to identify how HMA’ welfare or property was at an immediate risk of harm. He stated that his mother’s finances were at risk as she has dementia and is about to be placed in aged care. He stated that there was a need to pay bills, redirect mail, stop paying rent and to pay for aged care. He did not explain how any of those everyday matters gave rise to an actual risk of immediate harm
In order to have a decision maker appointed outside the hearing process required by the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000, an applicant must establish the criteria for an interim appointment. It is a discretionary order made only when the circumstances of a particular case demand an immediate installation of a decision maker for a person with impaired capacity. No such circumstances were revealed in this case.
An interim appointment should not be made merely because it would be more convenient than waiting for a hearing in the normal course of events. A hearing of the application is likely to be arranged within the next three months when the issues of impaired capacity and need for an appointment can be considered and determined by the tribunal.
The information provided did not convince the tribunal that HMA would be at an immediate risk of harm unless an appointment of administrators was to be made at this stage. The application for an interim order was dismissed.
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