WEJ
[2010] QCAT 557
•5 November 2010
| CITATION: | WEJ [2010] QCAT 557 |
| PARTIES: | WEJ |
| APPLICATION NUMBER: | GAA6972-10 GAA6973-10 |
| MATTER TYPE: | Guardianship and administration matters for adults |
| HEARING DATE: | 5 November 2010 |
| HEARD AT: | Brisbane |
| DECISION OF: | C Endicott, senior member |
| DELIVERED ON: | 5 November 2010 |
| DELIVERED AT: | Brisbane |
ORDERS MADE: | Applications for appointment of guardian and administrator dismissed |
| CATCHWORDS : | GUARDIANSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION - early end to proceedings – section 47 Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 – application lacking substance |
APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):
The hearing took place on the papers in the absence of the parties.
REASONS FOR DECISION
On 27 August 2010 an application was lodged in the Tribunal by SC, a social worker at a regional hospital, seeking the appointment of a guardian and administrator for WEJ.
The application was not accompanied by a health professional’s report as to the decision making capacity of WEJ but did contain a page from one of the cognitive assessments carried out with WEJ on 23 August 2010. That one page did not contain adequate information on which the Tribunal could make a determination as to WEJ’s decision making capacity.
On 3 September 2010 a staff member in the registry of the Tribunal wrote to SC informing her that her application had not included a health professional’s report and that her application would not proceed further until information about WEJ’s capacity was provided to the Tribunal.
No response was received from SC to that letter. On 5 October 2010 a staff member in the registry of the Tribunal sent an email to SC enquiring about a health professional’s report and informing SC that her application would not proceed until that report was received by the Tribunal.
On 5 October 2010 SC responded to the email enquiry and stated that she would follow up the medical team who had been given the report to complete a couple of weeks ago. No report was received by the Tribunal.
On 28 October 2010 a letter was sent to SC by a staff member in the registry of the Tribunal again enquiring about a health professional’s report and informing her that her application may be finalised if the information requested was not received by the Tribunal within one week of the letter. No response was received to that letter and no health professional’s report has been lodged with the Tribunal.
General Principle 1 in the Schedule to the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 states that an adult is presumed to have capacity to make decisions. Before the Tribunal can appoint another person to make decisions for an adult, that presumption must be rebutted by evidence acceptable to the Tribunal.
No satisfactory evidence as to WEJ’s capacity or lack of capacity to make his own decisions has been provided to the Tribunal. The presumption of capacity stands. The application for the appointment of a guardian and administrator for WEJ lacks substance.
Section 47 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 gives the Tribunal power to bring a proceeding to an early end if the Tribunal considers that an application is frivolous, vexatious or misconceived or is lacking in substance or is otherwise an abuse of process.
10. In view of the finding that the application of SC lacks substance, the Tribunal is satisfied that the application should be brought to an early end without conducting a hearing of the application under section 47.
0
0
0