IKT

[2015] NSWCATGD 27

NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	IKT [2015] NSWCATGD 27
Hearing dates:	9 October 2015
Date of orders:	09 October 2015
Decision date:	09 October 2015
Jurisdiction:	Guardianship Division
Before:	J Simpson, Senior Member (Legal) C West, Senior Member (Professional) S Rylands, General Member (Community)
Decision:	Financial Management order made; NSW Trustee and Guardian appointed.
Catchwords:	FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT – hearing proceeded in the absence of the protected person – evidence protected person notified of the hearing – refusal to participate – need for a financial management order where rent and water bills unpaid despite Tribunal orders for payment – risk to protected person’s accommodation – not capable of managing financial affairs – financial management order made – NSW Trustee and Guardian appointed – recommendation to financial manager made to allow subject person to manage her Centrelink pension after payment of rent and water bills
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Ms IKT (the subject person) Ms HPT (the applicant) The NSW Trustee and Guardian
Representation:	Nil
File Number(s):	2312
Publication restriction:	Decisions of the Guardianship Division of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal have been anonymised to remove any information that may identify any person involved in the Tribunal’s proceedings (s 65, Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW)).

REASONS FOR DECISION

What the Tribunal decided

1. The Tribunal appointed the NSW Trustee and Guardian as financial manager for Ms IKT. The Tribunal recommends that the NSW Trustee and Guardian ensure that Ms IKT’s rent and water charges, including arrears, are paid but otherwise give positive consideration to allowing Ms IKT access to the rest of her fortnightly Centrelink entitlements.

Background

2. This was an application for a financial management order in relation to Ms IKT. Ms IKT is a 50-year-old woman who lives in Housing NSW accommodation at Inner West Sydney. There have been ongoing major problems with Ms IKT paying her rent and water charges to Housing NSW and Ms HPT, senior client service officer, applied for a financial management order.

3. Ms IKT did not attend the hearing despite having been sent notice of the hearing and considerable attempts being made by her social worker, Ms MVX, to get her there. Ms MVX outlined these attempts in the hearing. The Tribunal’s attempts to telephone Ms IKT during the hearing were also unsuccessful. The Tribunal reluctantly decided to proceed to a decision in Ms IKT’s absence.

What did the Tribunal have to decide?

4. The questions for the Tribunal were:

• Is Ms IKT incapable of managing her affairs?

• Is there a need for another person to manage Ms IKT’s affairs and is it in her best interests for a financial management order to be made?

• If so, who should be appointed financial manager?

Should the Tribunal make a financial management order?

5. Ms HPT’s file note of 20 July 2015 summarised the ongoing difficulties there have been with Ms IKT tenancy due to her not making sufficient payments to cover her rent and water charges. Ms HPT outlined a wide range of attempts made by Housing NSW to resolve the situation. There have been six Tribunal orders for payment of arrears that Ms IKT has breached. Ms IKT had not followed through on promises to pay certain amounts and had signed Centrelink deduction forms then cancelled them.

6. In the hearing, Ms HPT said that Ms IKT currently owes $2231 for rent and $469 for water charges. As recently as 16 September, she had signed a new Centrepay deduction form but then cancelled it. She continues to pay $200 each two to three weeks but this is not enough. In July, a Tribunal order had required her to pay off her arrears at $80 per fortnight and the matter was going back to the Tribunal in January. Ms IKT has breached that order.

7. In view of Ms IKT’s personal needs, Ms HPT was very reluctant to bring eviction action to a head but was concerned that she would be directed to do so.

8. Ms MVX is a social worker and the GP collaborative clinical care coordinator with a Community Mental Health Centre. She provided a detailed report in relation to her service’s contact with Ms IKT. Ms IKT has a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and possible mild developmental delay complicated by a chronic history of dependence on marijuana and alcohol. In recent observations, she showed rudimentary literacy skills. She had a long history of crisis presentations to multiple hospitals around Sydney with complaints including physical health concerns and threats of suicide. She is generally seeking an admission to hospital though equally regularly absconds before medical investigations are complete. Ms MVX’s attempts to engage with Ms IKT have had very limited success. While Ms IKT’s capacity has not been properly assessed, she has clear personality vulnerabilities which lead to her being a chronic risk to herself and others. Homelessness would clearly exacerbate the situation and Ms MVX supported a financial management order to secure Ms IKT’s accommodation.

9. In the hearing, Ms MVX said that a lot of Ms IKT’s money goes on marijuana. However, there was no evidence that she does not pay her electricity and phone bills. Both Ms MVX and Ms HPT recommended that a financial management order should only be used to interfere with Ms IKT’s finances to the extent necessary to meet her rent and water charges obligations.

10. Dr Z, psychiatrist, supported the application writing that Ms IKT had repeatedly demonstrated that she was incapable of managing her finances. She was neglecting to pay her rent and imperilling her accommodation.

11. The Tribunal did not make a finding that Ms IKT has any particular mental health condition. However, in view of Ms IKT’s chronic and ongoing problems with meeting her tenancy obligations, thereby placing her accommodation security in peril, the Tribunal accepted that she was incapable of managing her financial affairs, needed someone else to do so and that it was in her best interests for a financial management order to be made.

12. In the absence of an alternative, the Tribunal was clear that it should appoint the NSW Trustee and Guardian.

13. In view of the recommendations of Ms HPT and Ms MVX and the lack of evidence of problems with payment of electricity or phone bills, the Tribunal has recommended that the NSW Trustee and Guardian consider providing Ms IKT with all of her Centrelink entitlements except for what the NSW Trustee and Guardian needs to address the rent and water charges issues.

Possible review of the order

14. The Tribunal’s order will apply for the indefinite future. However, if at some time Ms IKT can show the Tribunal that the order should be revoked, she can make an application for this to occur. The Tribunal can revoke an order on being satisfied that Ms IKT has regained capability to manage her affairs or that it is in her interests that the order be revoked.

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I hereby certify that this is a true and accurate record of the reasons for decision of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales.

Registrar

Decision last updated: 01 December 2015