Multiple appointments

Guardianship limits decision-making rights for the purpose of protecting other human rights. To mitigate this imposition, two important safeguards should be enacted:

i) that all guardianship appointments are time-limited, and
ii) that the guardian’s powers should impose the least restrictive measures on decision-making rights as are justified by the circumstances.

In a first for an Australian public guardianship body, OPA has examined its data on guardianship orders that are continued when reassessed– referred to as reappointments– and has published its data analysis report Multiple Appointments: What is Known About People Who Remain Under Guardianship for Years at a Time.

The analysis reveals a clear upward trend in time spent under guardianship.

Over the past decade reappointment rates for people under 65 have increased significantly, and the number of younger people subject to guardianship has also risen. This growth coincides with the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Victoria.

The findings suggest that public guardianship may be filling advocacy and safeguarding gaps created by a lack of appropriate accommodations for people with decision-making disability under the NDIS.

This is at odds with NDIS’ intentions to enable people with disability to exercise choice and control, and the supported decision-making principles promoted within the NDIS, guardianship legislation, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.