The Public Guardian is a statutory official appointed by the relevant court or tribunal in your State or Territory, if no valid ‘Power of Attorney’ documentation is available, regarding the care of an impaired person.

If there are no valid or relevant ‘Power of Attorney’ documents, and there are concerns that a patient with impaired decision-making capacity may make detrimental decisions or be neglected or exploited.

In such circumstances, an application can be made to the relevant court or tribunal (in your State or Territory) for the appointment of a Public Guardian or Administrator.

The Public Guardian is a statutory official appointed by the relevant court or tribunal in your State or Territory. When the Public Guardian is appointed he/she is ‘authorised’ to make health and welfare decisions on behalf of the people under his/her guardianship.

The Public Guardian cannot make decisions about financial matters or the person’s estate. The Public Guardian is only appointed when there is no private person who can be appointed as the impaired person’s guardian.

If you require a Solicitor who services your local area, please see our Business Search facility under ‘Solicitors (Wills & Estates)’ here.