JCJ
[2010] QCAT 332
•2 July 2010
| CITATION: | JCJ [2010] QCAT 332 |
| PARTIES: | JCJ |
| APPLICATION NUMBER: | GAA4504-10 |
| MATTER TYPE: | Guardianship and administration matters |
| HEARING DATE: | 22 June 2010 |
| HEARD AT: | Brisbane |
| DECISION OF: | C Endicott, senior member |
| DELIVERED ON: | 2 July 2010 |
| DELIVERED AT: | Brisbane |
ORDERS MADE: | Appointment of administrators suspended for all financial matters for three months and The Public Trustee of Queensland appointed as administrator for the exercise of the suspended power. |
| CATCHWORDS : | ADMINISTRATION – SUSPENSION OF POWER – where suspicion appointed persons are not competent – section 155(1) of the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 – where allegations by appointed persons that there had been an abuse of the appointees’ powers. |
APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):
The hearing took place on the papers in the absence of the parties.
REASONS FOR DECISION
On 14 July 2009 the Guardianship and Administration Tribunal appointed AB and CD jointly and severally as administrators for JCJ for all financial matters. The appointment was for a period of five years.
The administrators were directed to provide accounts to that Tribunal within a specified time (calculated to be by 19 May 2010) and to lodge a copy of that Tribunal’s order with the Registrar of Titles and to provide a copy of the lodgement summary to that Tribunal by 14 October 2009. The administrators had not complied with these directions.
From 1 December 2009 the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has replaced the Guardianship and Administration Tribunal. Orders made by the Guardianship and Administration Tribunal are taken to be orders of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
On 25 November 2009 AB during a telephone conversation informed a staff member in the registry of the former Tribunal that the previous evening CD had accused AB of financial abuse of JCJ.
During that conversation, AB informed the registry officer that she wanted to have the appointment of administrators changed so she was the sole administrator. AB informed the registry officer that she would complete an application for review of the appointment.
On 25 May 2010 AB was informed during a telephone conversion with a registry staff member that the administrators were overdue in lodging annual accounts and that the administrators were overdue in lodging the lodgement summary from the Registrar of Titles. AB informed the registry officer that she would provide documentation to the Tribunal that day. The documents directed to be lodged had not been lodged by 22 June 2010.
On 17 June 2010 AB filed an application for an interim order. The orders being sought were described in the following terms: to ensure that my father’s, JCJ, possessions are to be placed in commercial storage in preparation for the house’s auction; to ensure that JCJ’s possessions are not stored in private residences for example CD’s or CD’s friends’ private residences; to ensure that if or when JCJ’s possessions are sold, all transactions are documented and any financial gains made by the sale of JCJ’s possessions are placed in a separate bank account for JCJ; to ensure that CD does not help himself or his friends to JCJ’s possessions or profits from the sale of JCJ’s possessions.
In her application AB alleged that JCJ’s possessions had been removed from JCJ’s house by CD and placed in the residences of CD and his friends. AB alleged that CD wanted to sell to a friend an item of furniture belonging to JCJ and that CD expressed an intention to profit from this sale.
AB further alleged that CD was constantly lacking money, he had a mental instability, a criminal history and he had expressed a desire to profit personally from selling JCJ’s possessions. AB alleged that items of value belonging to JCJ were missing including a couch, a stereo system, a digital camera and an extensive record collection. She submitted that JCJ’s possessions were at immediate risk and that only three people had access to JCJ’s residence, being CD, Grant Needham and AB.
10. AB alleged that CD was a user of illicit drugs and alleged that he may use proceeds of sale of JCJ’s possessions to fund his drug usage. AB alleged that CD did not take his role as administrator seriously, he had shown very little regard to methods appropriate to the discharge of that role and she submitted that recovery of her father’s missing possessions may soon be irretrievable.
11. AB stated that she intended to lodge an application to review the administration appointments due to CD’s irrational, aggressive and dishonest behaviour.
12. In a telephone conversation with a registry officer of the Tribunal on 22 June 2010 AB confirmed the allegations she had made against CD and indicated her intention to seek to have him removed as administrator. The registry officer informed AB that one of the possible consequences of her application for interim orders was the suspension of the appointment of the administrators and the appointment of The Public Trustee of Queensland during the period of suspension.
13. On 22 June 2010 a registry officer telephoned CD and informed him of the application for interim orders filed by AB and the allegations made by her. The registry officer was informed by CD that a significant level of conflict existed between the administrators. CD alleged that AB was withholding information from him making it impossible for him to compile the accounts directed to be lodged by the former Tribunal.
14. CD alleged that AB had opened a bank account in her name into which she had deposited funds belonging to JCJ. CD alleged that the partner of AB had broken into JCJ’s house and vandalised the carpet and stolen some of JCJ’s property. He also alleged that he had been threatened with physical violence by the partner of AB.
15. CD was informed by the registry officer that one of the possible outcomes of the application by AB for interim orders was the suspension of the appointment of the administrators during which period The Public Trustee of Queensland would exercise the suspended power. CD stated that the appointment of the Public Trustee of Queensland might be a good thing.
16. The allegations made by AB and by CD about financial abuse occurring to JCJ by each of the administrators, if proved, would be evidence of incompetence and active dishonesty by the administrators. The allegations indicated the existence of multiple serious contraventions of the statutory obligations of the administrators and a breakdown of the relationship between the administrators.
17. The Tribunal formed a suspicion from the mutual allegations made by the administrators that they were no longer competent in the role and that the interests of JCJ were not being adequately protected by the administrators. His major assets, namely his house and possessions, were being sold in circumstances where his administrators were not working co-operatively and had accused each other of dishonest dealing with JCJ’s assets.
18. The Tribunal considered it appropriate after forming that suspicion to suspend the operation of the powers of the administrators under section 155(1) of the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 for three months and to conduct a review of the appointment of the administrators.
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