The Tasmanian Government welcomes a new framework by the Public Trustee which will improve the way it delivers its important services to Tasmanians.
“We recognise the important role that the Public Trustee plays in the Tasmanian community, providing specialist and independent trustee services to Tasmanians, including some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” said Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Guy Barnett.
“The new framework announced today is an important step by the Public Trustee to ensure a people-centric model is at the very core of all decision-making for people under guardianship and administration orders.
“These are some of Tasmania’s most vulnerable, and our Government is committed to ensuring they are protected and supported to make decisions about their future.”
The Attorney General welcomed the new framework, as another significant step the Public Trustee has made regarding the delivery of the recommendations from the Independent Review conducted by Damian Bugg AM KC.
“Twenty-six of the 28 recommendations have now been completed with all remaining recommendations due to be completed shortly, including the Office of the Economic Regulator review into fees and charges, which is currently underway,” the Attorney-General said.
“We thank the Public Trustee, led by CEO Todd Kennedy, for their engagement and commitment to implement the recommendations.
“The Trustee has been building strong relationships with stakeholders, including with the Office of the Public Guardian, to develop the new supported decision-making model.”
“This approach complements our Government’s work to contemporise our Guardianship and Administration laws, which represents a fundamental shift in the legal framework to a will and preference model, delivering on our commitment to further protect the rights of presented persons.”
The new frameworks follows recent legislative changes to the Guardianship and Administration Amendment Bill 2023, which bring our laws into line with guardianship and administration laws as recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission and other bodies.