QNC

[2016] NSWCATGD 48

NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	QNC [2016] NSWCATGD 48
Hearing dates:	14 October 2016
Date of orders:	14 October 2016
Decision date:	14 October 2016
Jurisdiction:	Guardianship Division
Before:	J Simpson, Senior Member (Legal) Dr C West, Senior Member (Professional) B Epstein-Frisch, General Member (Community)
Decision:	Guardianship 1. A guardianship order is made for Mr QNC. 2. The Public Guardian is appointed as the guardian. 3. This is a continuing guardianship order for a period of 18 months from the date of this order. 4. This is a limited guardianship order giving the guardian custody of Mr QNC to the extent necessary to carry out the service functions.  Financial Management 1. The estate of Mr QNC is subject to management under the NSW Trustee and Guardian Act 2009. 2. The management of the estate of Mr QNC is committed to the NSW Trustee and Guardian.
Catchwords:	GUARDIANSHIP – application for guardianship order – National Disability Insurance Scheme – no family or advocate – NDIS first and second planning processes – transfer of Ageing, Disability and Home Care ADHC accommodation service to non-government sector – Public Guardian appointed   FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT – application for financial management order – need for an order – NSW Trustee and Guardian appointed
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Mr QNC (subject person) Mr TNH (applicant)
File Number(s):	1312
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 Public Guardian for 18 months to make decisions for Mr QNC about services issues. The Tribunal appointed the NSW Trustee and Guardian as financial manager.

Background

2. Mr QNC is a 46-year-old man with an intellectual disability who lives in an Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC) group home at northern Sydney. With the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Mr QNC having no involved family, Mr TNH, coordinator of accommodation and respite with ADHC, applied for guardianship and financial management orders.

Guardianship

What did the Tribunal have to decide?

3. The Tribunal had to decide:

1. Does Mr QNC have a disability which prevents him from being able to make some important life decisions?

2. Should the Tribunal make a guardianship order and if so, what order should be made?

3. Who should be the guardian?

4. How long should the order last?

Should the Tribunal make a guardianship order?

4. Dr Z described Mr QNC as having a moderately severe intellectual disability. A support-need-assessment carried out in 2011 found Mr QNC to have low support needs in a range of areas but routinely needing support with things like problem-solving and planning. Mr QNC’s presentation in the hearing was consistent with these reports and the Tribunal accepted that he has an intellectual disability preventing him from being able to make important life decisions.

5. In the absence of an involved family member or advocate, the Tribunal accepted that Mr QNC needs a guardian to safeguard his interests through the current processes of NDIS implementation and ADHC tendering out of its services to the non-government sector. The guardian needed to be able to advocate and make decisions about services.

6. In the hearing, Ms LPL, residential support worker, said that the meeting with an NDIS planner had stopped because she was not comfortable representing Mr QNC’s interests in the meeting.

7. From the discussion in the hearing, issues for consideration in relation to the NDIS include the desirability of Mr QNC having much more one-to-one support for social activities with his girlfriend and with going to stage shows which she very much enjoys.

8. Also, Mr QNC has ongoing problems with anxiety and Ms LPL spoke of and showed practical strategies that house staff used to help Mr QNC with this. It may be that this should be supplemented with professional advice from a behaviour support practitioner or psychologist.

9. Mr QNC’s intellectual disability is permanent and the Tribunal saw guardianship as needed to at least cover his first two NDIS plans and the transfer of his accommodation to a non-government provider. The Tribunal made the guardianship order for 18 months.

10. In the absence of an alternative, the Tribunal appointed the Public Guardian.

Financial management

11. The Tribunal had to decide:

1. Is Mr QNC incapable of managing his affairs?

2. Is there a need for another person to manage Mr QNC’s affairs and is it in his best interests for a financial management order to be made?

3. If so, who should be appointed financial manager?

12. In the hearing, Mr QNC showed very limited awareness of his financial affairs. In fact, he has approximately $85,000 in savings. In view of his intellectual disability, the Tribunal accepted that Mr QNC is incapable of managing his financial affairs and needs someone else to do so.

13. To date, house staff have been signatories on Mr QNC’s accounts but with him having considerable savings, the Tribunal accepted that it was in his interests that it make a financial management order. In the absence of an alternative, the Tribunal appointed the NSW Trustee and Guardian

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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