The Law Reform Commission is currently undertaking a major review of the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990. The review is extensive with documentation running over 400 pages. Our systemic advocate spoke to all of our individual advocates to ensure we were capturing the stories we hear from consumers who have experience with the guardianship system.
We collated these stories into a position paper which we submitted to the review. In this paper we focused on:
- The lack of representation and support that is available to a consumer who is the subject of a guardianship hearing at the State Administrative Tribunal
- Guardianship orders not precluding the involvement of an advocate if a consumer is unhappy with their healthcare
- Our belief that guardianship decisions should be made using the Wills and Preferences Standard, rather than the Best Interests Standard
- Our position on Advanced Health Directives including how health practitioners should be legally obliged to determine if an Advanced Health Directive is in place, and how this may be made more efficient by all Advanced Health Directives being registered in a central location.
- Our concerns about patients who are not subject to the Mental Health Act being placed by their guardian in a locked ward for a social admission, which makes them subject to restrictive practices even without a restrictive practices order being in place.
- Our position that restrictive practice orders from the SAT should be reviewed at least every three months to ensure they are still appropriate for the consumer.
Our full submission can be found here: HCCWA Submission to Guardianship Act Review May 2025