Supported decision-making is an empowering approach to assist individuals with impaired decision-making abilities in actively participating in decisions that affect their lives. 

Our Supported decision-making framework, launched in October 2023, represented a significant change aimed at enhancing the lives of individuals with impaired decision-making abilities.

Accessing the Guidelines:

Please click here to download our Supported Decision-making Guidelines

You may want help from someone who is not a family member or friend. The organisations below can assist you before or during your Tribunal hearing. They can also help you discuss any issues with our services.

Advocacy Tasmania

Advocacy Tasmania can help you with information, support and advice before or at your Tribunal hearing. They may also help you talk to the Public Trustee about any issues and help you decide a way forward.

Call 1800 005 131 or visit www.yoursaytas.org

Speak out Advocacy

Speak Out represent and support adults with a disability. They can attend Tribunal hearings with you, or on your behalf, and can help provide you with information about your matter. They also may help you with any issues related to the Public Trustee.

Call (03) 6231 2344 or visit www.speakoutadvocacy.org

Tasmania Legal Aid

Legal Aid can assist you with free or low-cost legal advice and represent you at Tribunal hearings across the state.

Call their free advice line on 1300 366 611  or go to www.legalaid.tas.gov.au or visit their offices in Hobart, Launceston, Burnie and Devonport.

Community Legal Centres

Community Legal Centres provide free or low-cost legal services. They have offices located in Hobart, Launceston and the North-West.

Hobart Community Legal Centre

Call (03) 6223 2500 or visit www.hobartlegal.org.au

Launceston Community Legal Centre

Call (03) 6334 1577 or visit www.lclc.net.au

North West Community Legal Centre

Call (03) 6424 8720 or visit www.nwclc.org.au

The Association for Children with Disability (Tas) Inc.

The Association for Children with Disability (Tas) Inc. provide information, consultation and training, case coordination and peer support for parents of children with a disability.

Call 1800 244 742 or visit acdtas.com.au

Citizen Advocacy Launceston Region Inc.

Citizen Advocacy Launceston Region Inc. support and represent people with a disability in the Launceston area.

Call (03) 6331 2177 Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 4.30pm or  visit www.citizenadvocacylton.org.au/contact.html.

Women’s Legal Service Tasmania

Women’s Legal Service Tasmania offers free legal advice to women across Tasmania through their telephone advice line.

Call 1800 682 468 Monday to Friday between 10am and 4pm or

visit www.womenslegaltas.org.au

Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service (TALS) offers free legal help to all Aboriginal Tasmanians.

Call 1800 595 162 Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm or visit www.tals.net.au

Private legal representation

If you want private representation at a Tribunal hearing, the Law Society of Tasmania can help you with a list of private practitioners.

Call (03) 6234 4133 or email info@lst.org.au to get a copy of the list.

Find Help Tas

Connecting you with local community services. www.findhelptas.org.au

Need crisis help?

• If you or someone else is in immediate danger call 000;
• If you or someone else is experiencing a mental health crisis and needs an urgent assessment, call the Mental Health Helpline on 1800 332 388;
• If you need to talk call –
  • Lifeline: 13 11 14; or
  • Beyondblue: 1300 22 4636 or
  • SANE Australia helpline: 1800 18 7263

The first thing we will do is arrange to speak with you and/ or your support person/s so that we can find out more about you and start helping you with your finances.

In this conversation we will:

• Talk about our role and responsibilities.
• Explain the administration process.
• Ask you questions about your financial goals (like what you like to spend money on and if you are saving up for anything in the future)
• Discuss your budget.
• Identify and deal with any urgent financial matters.
• Explain our fees and charges.

To help you prepare for our first conversation we recommend you have the following information with you.  Some of these things might not be applicable to you, so don’t worry if you don’t have everything listed here.

• Your identification – like your birth certificate or your passport or your proof of age card
• Your Medicare Number and/or your Private Health Insurance Number (if you have one)
• Your Tax File Number or a copy of your last Tax return or a copy of your latest Notice of Assessment
• Your latest bank account statement
• Details about any direct debits that are set up from your bank account or any regular bills you pay
• Information about any money you are owed
• Invoices for any debts that you have not paid
• Information about any pensions or superannuation you receive (Australian and/ or foreign)
• If you own a car, your registration and car insurance details
• Information about where you live (like a copy of your rental contract or tenancy agreement).
• If you own your own home a copy of your property title, mortgage and insurance details.
• Share certificates or information about investments, if you have any
• Information about anyone who you think might leave money or assets to you in their Will
• Any other important information that you think we should know about your financial goals. You may want to think about activities you like doing (like going to the movies or traveling) so that we can include them in your budget.

Who will help you

While your Administration Order is in place one of our team members will be your dedicated Client Account Manager and will help you with the management of your finances.

You can contact your Client Account Manager by phone or email, or make an appointment to visit them at our office. Your Client Account Manager may also talk with your support person/s and family about your financial matters.

We also have a team of experts in investments, financial planning, property management, taxation and legal matters who can help you achieve the best possible financial outcomes.

When will it start?

Your Administration Order starts as soon as the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal makes its decision, however, it will take some time for us to make sure everything is arranged – this can take up to six (6) weeks. During this time you will be working with your Client Account Manager and can contact them at any time if you have any questions or financial requests.

In many cases a personal budget will be set up for you and you may receive an allowance for personal spending. The allowance will generally be put into your bank account via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) so that you can access the funds directly.

To make sure that your money is only spent on things that you can afford, and that support your interests and goals, special purchases will need to be discussed in advance with your Client Account Manager.

If the special purchase is suitable and affordable, we can approve it and arrange for the payment to be made. We will usually pay the bill or invoice directly on your behalf but if your support person pays for the purchase, we will need them to give proof of the payment (like a receipt or bank statement) before we can pay them back.

While your Administration Order is in place, we can only use your funds to benefit you. This means that we cannot approve extra money to be spent on gifts for other people. If it is appropriate for someone else to benefit from your assets or income, we can help you to arrange an application to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

You may wish to request money for a special purchase that was not included in your initial budget.  You and/or your support person must tell us of any additional purchases you wish to make, before making them.  We will then discuss the suitability of this purchase with you and/or your support person.

This is to ensure that each purchase is affordable for you. If the purchase is approved, we will determine the best way for payment to be made. We usually pay the bill direct.

If necessary, we can reimburse any money that your support person may have spent.  To do this, we will need evidence of the payment (such as receipts or a bank statement) before they can be reimbursed.

The Tribunal will review the Administration Order before it ends. At the review, the Tribunal will check to see that your needs are being met and will decide if you still need our help.

If you (or another interested person) would like to have your order reviewed before that time, or would like to have the Public Trustee removed as your Administrator, you will need to complete a ‘Review of Order’ application with the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

You will also need a medical practitioner, psychologist, neuro-psychologist or psychiatrist to complete a Health Care Professional Report to make sure that you are capable of making your own decisions.

Before completing the form, you or your support person/s should contact the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to talk about the process:

Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

Phone: 1800 657 500
Address: 38 Barrack Street, Hobart, TAS, 7000
Email: guardianship@tascat.tas.gov.au

An Administrator is appointed by the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal).

The the Tribunal will only appoint an administrator when a person is aged 18 years and over and:

• has disability; and
• cannot make reasonable decisions about financial and property matters because of his or her disability; and
• there is no less restrictive way of providing assistance.

The power to act as an Administrator will cease on the death of the person.

If you would like more information in relation to the process of appointing an Administrator and/ or application forms please contact:  

Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal 

Phone: 1800 657 500
Address: 38 Barrack Street, Hobart, TAS, 7000
Email: guardianship@tascat.tas.gov.au

There are three main duties of a Administrator:

• Act in the best interests of the person whose affairs they are managing;
• Encourage and assist that person to become capable of managing their financial affairs;
• Consult with that person and take into account, as far as possible, their wishes.

Some tasks a Administrator may be required to undertake include:

• protecting assets;
• dealing with personal property and real estate;
• collecting income, such as dividends from shares, rents, pension entitlements or interest;
• developing a budget management plan;
• paying bills and accounts;
• developing and maintaining an appropriate investment portfolio;
• completing tax returns and pension reviews;
• liaising with government, community and private agencies; and
• providing full financial statements to the client and appropriate authorities.

If someone over 18 years old is having difficulty managing their financial affairs due to a disability or impaired decision-making ability, the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal) can issue an administration order.

In contrast, an enduring power of attorney is a legal document where an individual appoints another person/ or a statutory trustee company (such as the Public Trustee) to manage their financial affairs if their decision-making ability was impaired or they no longer wanted the responsibility.

The distinct advantage of an enduring power of attorney is that it allows you to choose who will manage your financial affairs. In order to make an enduring power of attorney you need to have the necessary mental capacity to understand the meaning and effect of the document.

The Tribunal will not appoint an administrator if there is a valid enduring power of attorney in place UNLESS the attorney is not acting in the best interests of the person concerned.

When managing your everyday finances, we work hard to ensure your best interests are supported. We will carefully consider all the requests you make.

We will send you a statement at least once a year showing all your transactions. If you have any questions about your finances please contact our team.

The Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal) makes an order for a period of time (usually three years). The Tribunal will review the order before it ends. At the review, the Tribunal will check to see that your needs are being met and will decide if you still need our help.

If you have any questions, please contact your Client Account Manager.

If you are dissatisfied with the response from your Client Account Manager, please go to see our Feedback and Complaints process

As your Financial Administrator, we may need to collect personal information about you so that we can understand your financial matters in detail.

We will only use the personal information that we collect about you for the purpose of managing your finances. We may need to share some of your information with others (like contractors or agents of the Public Trustee), so that they can provide advice or a service for your benefit.

All of our actions have to follow the laws about privacy to make sure that you are protected and that we can do our job. The Public Trustee is governed by the laws set out in The Personal Information Protection Act 2004, The Public Trustee Act 1930, and The Guardianship and Administration Act 1995.

The Public Trustee has adopted the following standards in communicating with our clients.

RETURNING TELEPHONE CALLS

• When you leave a message we will return your call promptly, but in any event within one working day of receipt of the message
• Voicemail messages will state if the person you are calling is away for more than one working day and will provide an alternative contact number
• We will make every effort to provide you with a response as quickly as possible
• If we are unable to deal with your query we will try to put you in contact with someone who can assist you 

RESPONDING TO LETTERS, EMAIL AND FAX

• We will reply to non-urgent correspondence within 10 working days
• We will contact you to inform you of progress if a final reply is not issued within 10 working days
• We will reply to urgent correspondence where possible on the same day, but in any event within 1 working day
• We will communicate clearly providing you with a response to the matters raised. 

FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT

• We will ensure that our reception and meeting facilities are clean, accessible and maintained to a high standard of comfort and safety
• We will provide you with the maximum level of privacy possible
• We will meet you at the appointed time, or let you know if there are any delays and be helpful and courteous in our dealings with you

YOUR VIEWS ON OUR SERVICE

The Public Trustee places a high level of value on feedback from our clients and also has a formal policy for dealing with any concerns or complaints.

To provide feedback PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE FEEDBACK AND COMPLAINTS PAGE