JPR

Case [2023] QCAT 82 3 March 2023

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QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

CITATION:

JPR [2023] QCAT 82

PARTIES:

In an application about matters concerning JPR

APPLICATION NO/S:

GAA1051-23

MATTER TYPE:

Guardianship and administration matters for adults

DELIVERED ON:

3 March 2023

HEARING DATE:

27 January 2023

HEARD AT:

Brisbane

DECISION OF:

Member Lember

ORDERS:

1. [K] is suspended as guardian for [JPR] for the following personal matters under s155 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000:

(a)     Accommodation;

(b)     With whom [JPR] has contact and/or visits;

(c)     Health care;

(d)     Provision of services;

(e)     Day-to-day issues, including, for example, diet and dress;

(f)      Legal matters not relating to [JPR]’s financial or property matters.

2.     The Public Guardian are appointed jointly with [CW] as guardians for [JPR] for the following personal matters during the period of suspension:

(a)     Accommodation;

(b)     With whom [JPR] has contact and/or visits;

(c)     Health care;

(d)     Provision of services;

(e)     Day-to-day issues, including, for example, diet and dress;

(f)      Legal matters not relating to [JPR]’s financial or property matters.

3.      The Tribunal directs the guardians to provide a written account of their actions as guardians to the Tribunal no later than three (3) working days prior to the hearing.

4.     This guardianship appointment of the Public Guardian and [CW] remains current for three (3) months or, if the Tribunal makes a further order in this matter, until the date of the further order, whichever is the sooner.

CATCHWORDS:

HEALTH LAW – GUARDIANSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF PROPERTY OF PERSONS WITH IMPAIRED CAPACITY – ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT – interim orders – where wife of adult appointed as joint guardian with son of adult – where wife risk feeding adult against medical advice and against wishes of joint guardian – where immediate risk of harm to adult from hyperglycaemia and choking due to risk feeding – where wife’s appointment as joint guardian suspended on an interim basis pending review hearing

Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 (Qld) s 5, s 7, s 11, s 11B, s 11C, s 12, s 31, s 155, sch 4

Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009
(Qld) s 32

Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) s 13, s 48

Aziz v Prestige Property Services Pty Ltd [2007] QSC 265

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SI [2012] QCAT 577
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VJM [2012] QCAT 53

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APPEARANCES & REPRESENTATION:

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

REASONS FOR DECISION

What is the application about?

JPR is an eighty-one-year-old gentleman who suffered a severe brain injury in a motor vehicle accident in 2007 leading to his cognitive impairment, and who also now suffers from Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and various other physical…

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.

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Details

AGLC: JPR [2023] QCAT 82
Case: [2023] QCAT 82
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) was tasked with reviewing and making interim orders concerning the guardianship of an eighty-one-year-old gentleman, JPR, who has cognitive impairment and other health issues following a motor vehicle accident in 2007. The application was filed by CW, JPR’s son, seeking to remove JPR’s wife, K, as a joint guardian and replace her with a family member. The application was based on K’s refusal to follow medical recommendations, resulting in harm and hospitalisation of JPR in October 2022 and January 2023. The key legal issues before the Tribunal were whether JPR had impaired decision-making capacity, whether there was an immediate risk of harm to JPR, and who should be appointed as an interim joint guardian. The Tribunal found that JPR did have impaired capacity and that K’s actions placed JPR at risk of fatal harm through choking/aspiration and hyperglycaemia due to 'risk feeding' against medical advice. The Tribunal suspended K’s appointment as joint guardian and appointed the Public Guardian as joint guardian with CW, pending a review hearing. The decision was made in accordance with the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 (Qld) and the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld), taking into account the interests of justice and the need for urgent action to protect JPR’s health and safety.

The final orders made by the Tribunal were as follows: 1) K is suspended as guardian for JPR for the specified personal matters under s155 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000; 2) The Public Guardian is appointed jointly with CW as guardians for JPR for the specified personal matters during the period of suspension; 3) The guardians are directed to provide a written account of their actions to the Tribunal no later than three working days prior to the hearing; and 4) The guardianship appointment of the Public Guardian and CW remains current for three months or until a further order is made, whichever is sooner.

Orders