Project 114 – Guardianship and Administration

The Commission is reviewing WA’s Guardian and Administration legislation.

The Law Reform Commission of Western Australia is to review, provide advice and make recommendations for consideration by the Western Australian Government on new legislation to enhance and update the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990 (WA).

Terms of Reference

1. Pursuant to section 11(2)(b) of the Law Reform Commission Act 1972 (WA), the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia is to review, provide advice and make recommendations for consideration by the Western Australian Government on new legislation to enhance and update the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990 (WA) (Act).
    
2. In carrying out its review, the Law Reform Commission should:
   1. ensure that recommendations for any new legislation reflect the current scope of the Act as applying to adults only;
       
   2. consider the need for reform, and the best approach to implementing that reform in the Western Australian context, following on from:
       
      1. the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability relating to guardianship and administration, particularly the recommendations regarding a new supported decision-making framework and a legal framework for the authorisation, review and oversight of restrictive practices, as applicable in the particular context of Western Australia,
          
      2. the statutory review of the Act conducted by the Department of the Attorney General in November 2015,
          
      3. the Final Report of the Select Committee into Elder Abuse tabled in the Legislative Council on 13 September 2018;
          
      4. the work of the Standing Council of Attorneys General's Enduring Powers of Attorney Working Group, including any model provisions developed by that Working Group, as applicable in the particular context of Western Australia; and
          
      5. any other state and federal reform relating to guardianship and administration,
          
   3. take into account the role and identity of decision-makers under the Act, as compared with other legislation including the Aged Care Bill 2023 (Cth) (exposure draft);
       
   4. consider whether confidentiality requirements under the Act are sufficient to adequately balance the protection of the privacy of persons providing information or who are affected by or involved in a decision made pursuant to the Act, and the promotion of the principle of transparency; and
       
   5. have regard to any other matter the Commission considers relevant.