A v Guardianship and Management of Property Tribunal

[1999] ACTSC 77

Supreme Court of the ACT

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Guardianship and Management of Property
2. › Appointment of manager of property
3. › Criteria for appointment
4. › Distinction between guardian and manager
5. › Legal incompetence to enter into transaction
6. › Whether Tribunal applied correct statutory test
7. › Guardianship and Management of Property Act 1991 (ACT), ss 7, 8
1. Guardianship and Management of Property
2. › Appointment of manager of property
3. › Meaning of 'legally incompetent'
4. › Relative not absolute concept
5. › Degree of understanding varies with complexity of transaction
6. › Guardianship and Management of Property Act 1991 (ACT), s 8(1)(a)
1. Guardianship and Management of Property
2. › Principles to be observed
3. › Paramount consideration of person's views and wishes
4. › Distinction between welfare-based and competence-based intervention
5. › Guardianship and Management of Property Act 1991 (ACT), s 3(2)(a)
1. Courts
2. › Supreme Court
3. › Inherent jurisdiction
4. › Parens patriae jurisdiction
5. › Whether inherent jurisdiction to appoint manager of property survives repeal of Charter of Justice and Lunacy Act
6. › Supreme Court Act 1933 (ACT), s 20
7. › Imperial Acts Application Act 1986 (ACT), Sch 2

Quick Take

For appointment of a manager under s 8 of the Guardianship and Management of Property Act 1991 (ACT), the Tribunal must make a specific finding of legal incompetence to enter into a particular transaction or type of transaction, not merely a finding that the person is unable to make reasonable judgments about financial affairs generally. Legal incompetence is a relative concept: the degree of understanding required varies with the complexity of the transaction. Mental disorder does not equate with legal incompetence. The person's views and wishes receive paramount consideration under s 3(2)(a), prevailing over what the Tribunal considers to be in the person's best interests.