Guardianship and Administration Act 1995

For the purposes of this Act, and without limiting the ways in which this may occur, the personal and social well-being of a person is promoted by –

respecting the inherent dignity of the person and the person’s individual autonomy, including the freedom to make their own choices and their right to independence; and respecting and promoting the person’s own decision-making ability; and ensuring that the person is free from neglect, abuse, exploitation and other forms of harm; and the importance of preserving the dignity of risk of a person with impaired decision-making ability in respect of decisions is to be recognised and to inform those decisions; and respecting the right of the person to be treated without discrimination; and respecting the person's individuality, including personal or lifestyle activities that provide pleasure, purpose and fulfilment to the person; and having regard to the person's existing supportive relationships, religion, values, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation and cultural and linguistic environment; and respecting the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to enjoy their culture, including with other people who share that culture; and respecting the person's right to privacy and to have contact with and correspond privately with others; and recognising the importance of, and facilitating access to, the provision of supports that enable the person to exercise the person's autonomy; and recognising the importance to the person of any companion animal that the person has and having regard to the benefits that may be obtained from the person having a companion animal.