Types of applications

The functions of the Tribunal - Guardianship Stream are extensive and include powers in relation to:

• Guardianship
• Enduring guardianship
• Advance Care Directive
• Administration
• Application for both Guardianship and Administration
• Enduring powers of attorney
• Emergency situations
• Consent to medical or dental treatment
• Health and medical research
• Statutory Wills
• Appointment of a Guardian or Administrator made outside Tasmania

Please note that on 1 July 2025, new legislation has changed the process for applying for Restrictive Interventions. Please read the Tribunal's news item regarding these changes.

Guardianship

The Tribunal may appoint a guardian for a person who is over the age of 18 years.

The Tribunal can also make an order that will take effect when a person turns 18 years of age.  If you want to make an application for this type of order, please contact the registry before lodging the application to discuss the requirements and timeframe for making the application.

A guardian is a person who has been given the legal power to make important decisions on behalf of another adult for personal matters - such as where that person should live, or what care and services the person should have.  Personal matters are defined in Section 3 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 1995.

Any person over the age of 18 may be appointed as another person's guardian. A family member or close friend who the Tribunal judges to be suitable and available are preferred.  If no eligible person is available, then the Public Guardian may be appointed.

The Tribunal has produced a Fact Sheet and Handbook about guardianship.

Guardianship orders must be reviewed by the Tribunal in certain circumstances or a request can be made for a review of an order.  The Tribunal has produced a detailed Fact Sheet about how guardianship orders are reviewed. 

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Enduring guardianship

Part 5 of the Act enables a person to appoint another person or persons to make decisions about personal matters for them in the event that the person is no longer capable of making those decisions.

By appointing your own enduring guardian before losing decision-making ability, you decide who will be your guardian, what types of decisions they may make for you and how you want decisions made for you.

Your appointed guardian must act in accordance with the principles and decision making requirements  in the Act and in a number of important respects is subject to direction by the Tribunal.

The Tribunal has produced Fact Sheets about Enduring Guardianship and how to review an Enduring Guardianship Instrument.

The Tribunal has produced an Instrument Appointing an Enduring Guardianship.

The Tribunal has produced a form and guide for making an application to review or revoke an Enduring Guardianship Instrument.

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Advance Care Directive

On Monday 21 November 2022, changes to the Guardianship and Administration Act 1995 (the Act) commenced, providing a legal framework in Tasmania for making and registering Advance Care Directives (ACD’s).

An ACD is a document setting out a person’s future health care and treatment preferences, for use at a time where they may have impaired decision-making ability.

You may register an ACD made in accordance with the Act , with the Tribunal. There is no mandatory requirement to register an ACD, an ACD made in accordance with the Act will be valid even if it is not registered with the Tribunal.

The Tribunal has powers to hold a hearing in relation to an ACD to make decisions about an ACD, including its validity, revoking or varying the ACD or providing advice and directions.

For more information on ACD’s, including how to register with the Tribunal, please review our fact sheet.

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Administration

The Tribunal may appoint an administrator - who acts like a financial manager - of a person's financial matters. Financial matters are defined under Section 3 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 1995.

An administrator may either be a person or an organisation (eg The Public Trustee) who has been given the legal authority to manage some, or all of the financial and legal affairs of a person with impaired decision-making ability

If the Tribunal appoints a private administrator, it must be satisfied that the person has the appropriate qualifications and/or experience to carry out the duties of an administrator.

The Tribunal has produced a detailed Fact Sheet about administration orders can it can be found here:

• Administration fact sheet (PDF, 90.5 KB)

The Tribunal has prepared a booklet called Private Administrators Handbook.   The booklet provides details of the administrator's role, duties and responsibilities, and contains forms and examples of statements of account. This booklet is issued to all private administrators after appointment.

Administration orders must be reviewed by the Tribunal in certain circumstances or a request can be made for a review of an order.  The Tribunal has produced a detailed Fact Sheet about how Administration orders are reviewed.  

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Applications for both Guardianship and Administration

There may be circumstances where someone wants to apply for both a guardianship order and an administration order. The Tribunal has produced a form and guide for making applications for both of those types of orders.

Enduring powers of attorney (EPA)

An enduring power of attorney is a legal document that allows a person ('the donor') to choose another person ('the attorney') to make financial decisions on their behalf if they become unable, by mental incapacity, to make such decisions for themselves.

An enduring power of attorney authorises your attorney to make these decisions even if you are no longer able to make them for yourself. An attorney cannot make personal, medical or lifestyle decisions for you - for this purpose you can appoint an enduring guardian.

For further information on making an enduring power of attorney you should seek legal advice. EPAs must be registered with the Office of the Recorder of Titles

The Tribunal's powers under the Powers of Attorney Act 2000 in relation to enduring powers of attorney involve reviewing existing EPAs. These include the power to vary or revoke an EPA, to declare that an EPA was not validly executed, and/or to direct and advise attorneys about the power and its exercise.

You should contact the Tribunal's office if you believe that an EPA was not validly made or is not operating in the best interests of the Donor.

Review of Enduring Powers fact sheet (DOCX, 77.2 KB)

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Emergency requests

Sometimes there can be an urgent need for an emergency order for a proposed represented person, usually to protect a person or their finances from harm.  If someone is seeking an order under Section 65 of the Act, there must be an immediate risk of harm to the person’s health, welfare, property or financial situation including because of a risk of abuse, exploitation, neglect of the person or self-neglect.

All emergency requests will be determined by an in-person hearing.

If you wish to request an emergency order you should complete the application form that relates to the type of order you are seeking (guardianship, administration or both). But you must provide information about the immediate risk of harm to the person on the form under the heading “Do you believe the person is in immediate risk of harm?” if you are seeking an emergency order.

If you are making an application during normal business hours you may either fax to (03) 6173 0211 or email the Tribunal.

If you are making an application outside of normal business hours please call the Public Guardian on (03) 6165 6767. Please note this service only applies to persons in Tasmania who are over 18 years of age.

The Order appoints the Public Guardian or the Public Trustee, as the case may be, and is effective for 28 days unless renewed for a similar period.

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Medical and dental treatment

Part 6 of the Act provides for a comprehensive and flexible statutory scheme for the authorisation and approval of medical and dental treatment for persons with impaired decision-making ability who are incapable of giving or refusing consent to treatment.

The Tribunal has authority to consent to treatment but in most cases the consent of the Tribunal will not be required. This is because the Act gives the 'person responsible' who may be the person's spouse, carer or close friend, the authority to provide a substitute consent. The Tribunal, however, must consent to some types of very serious treatments eg sterilisations.

• Consent to Medical Treatment fact sheet
  (DOCX, 76.2 KB)
• Consent to Medical Treatment by a Person Responsible fact sheet
  (DOCX, 76.2 KB)

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Health and Medical Research

On 1 September 2024, a new Part of the Guardianship and Administration Act commenced operation.  Under Part 6A of the Act a person, 18 years or over with impaired decision-making ability and who is incapable of indicating whether they consent or not to the conduct of health and medical research upon them, may be enrolled in research if certain conditions are met.

The Tribunal has produced a detailed Fact Sheet about Health and Medical Research which explains:

• The overriding status of Advanced Care Directives in relation to Health and Medical Research
• The role of the person responsible
• Delayed consent and how it operates with respect to research
• The role of the Tribunal and what orders and declarations the Tribunal can make
• And how to make applications to the Tribunal

It is important to note the Tribunal does not have any role in approving the health and medical research itself.  The Tribunal’s role relates to decisions about the person’s participation in any research.

The Tribunal has also produced detailed forms and guides to assist in making an application in relation to Health and Medical Research under Section 48O of the Act.

Statutory wills

A statutory will is a will made by an order of the Tribunal for a person who is incapable of making a valid will for him or herself.

The Tribunal may order the execution of a statutory will for a person who lacks testamentary capacity and who has never made a valid will.

If a person has already made a valid will, they are not eligible for a statutory will.

The overriding duty of the Tribunal is to make a will as nearly as practicable to the will that the person would have made if he or she had capacity to make their own will. Therefore a great deal of evidence about the person's life and relationships needs to accompany an application.

• Making a statutory will fact sheet (PDF, 81.7 KB)

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Recognising the order of a Guardian or Administrator made outside Tasmania

The Tribunal can recognise and register an order of guardians and/or administrators made under corresponding law by other courts and tribunals in other Australian states or territories.

Applications for recognising the order of a Guardian or Administrator made outside Tasmania can only be made by the person who was appointed as guardian and/or administrator. The form should be submitted along with a copy of the original instrument of his or her appointment, a certified copy of that instrument or other evidence satisfactory to the Tribunal of that order.

When the appointment is recognised, the Tribunal will send the order to the recognised guardian or administrator, the person under guardianship or administration, and to the court or tribunal that made the original order in the other state or territory. The order is the authority to act in Tasmania within the terms of the original order of the other state. This recognition only has effect for the period of time specified in the original order.

Applications for recognition of interstate order (PDF, 2.3 MB)

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