Hearings are open to the public

Guardianship hearings of the Tribunal are open to the public. A person may make an application to the Tribunal pursuant to section 81 of the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 to have the hearing closed to the public or to have particular persons excluded from the hearing.

Evidence that is supplied to the Tribunal may be discussed at the hearing in accordance with rules of procedural fairness. If you believe that the information that you wish to provide is especially confidential and that it should not be discussed at the hearing, you must apply (in writing or at the hearing) to the Tribunal to have that information treated confidentially.

The Act provides protection for persons or organisations disclosing information.  Section 85(1) states that a person who makes a report or gives information to the Tribunal is not subject to any liability for making the report or giving the information so long as he or she acts in good faith and has reasonable and probable grounds for believing the report or information to be true.

Confidentiality of information

Prior to 1 September there were confidentiality provisions in the Guardianship and Administration Act 1995 that were often referred to as ‘gag orders’, which limited people under Guardianship and Administration orders from telling their stories and identifying themselves.

It is clear that amendments made to the Act by a new provision Section 86(2B) are intended to allow those who are subject to orders to tell their story, including identifying themselves in the media.

The new Section 86(2B) provides:

(2B) A person may disclose protected information relating to a protected person if that disclosure –

• (a) has been consented to by, and with the full understanding of, the protected person; and
• (b) the disclosure of the protected information does not involve the disclosure of information relating to another person, unless the other person has consented to the disclosure of that information.

Section 86 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 1995 sets out the confidentiality of information obtained in relation to a person by the Tribunal or Public Guardian. This information is called ‘protected information.’

Section 86 sets out the rules about ‘protected information’ and what can be released including the new provisions set out above.  The registry staff cannot give advice about whether someone can disclose information or under what circumstances.

Release of information from Tribunal files

There are circumstances where the Tribunal may allow the release of information obtained in the course of an application or a hearing and these are set out in Section 86 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 1995. If you require information from a Tribunal file, please forward a request in writing to the President of the Tribunal to the guardianship email .