Assessing Capacity for Enduring Guardianship

One of the key questions arising for health professionals and service providers is whether the person has lost capacity to make decisions and it is appropriate to activate the Enduring Guardianship Appointment.  There is no specific test or benchmark that can trigger the Enduring Guardianship Appointment.   A Capacity Assessment may be required to clarify whether the person is still capable of making decisions.

For more information on Capacity Assessments, refer to the Capacity Toolkit available from the Department of Attorney General and Justice.

There are people in the community who have existing disabilities which mean that they lack capacity to appoint an Enduring Guardian.  However, the person with the disability or, commonly, their family members, would like to be able to plan ahead.  If there is a clear need for someone else to assist in making major health and welfare decisions for the person, an application can be made to the Guardianship Tribunal to make a Guardianship Order, appointing another person or the Public Guardian as the person’s guardian. 

You can also refer parents of a person with a disability to the guidebook: Planning for the Future.