Queensland Consolidated Acts

GUARDIANSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION ACT 2000 - SCHEDULE 2

A financial matter, for an adult, is a matter relating to the adult's financial or property matters, including, for example, a matter relating to 1 or more of the following--

(a) paying maintenance and accommodation expenses for the adult and the adult's dependants, including, for example, purchasing an interest in, or making another contribution to, an establishment that will maintain or accommodate the adult or a dependant of the adult;

(b) paying the adult's debts, including any fees and expenses to which an administrator is entitled under a document made by the adult or under a law;

(c) receiving and recovering money payable to the adult;

(d) carrying on a trade or business of the adult;

(e) performing contracts entered into by the adult;

(f) discharging a mortgage over the adult's property;

(g) paying rates, taxes, insurance premiums or other outgoings for the adult's property;

(h) insuring the adult or the adult's property;

(i) otherwise preserving or improving the adult's estate;

(j) investing for the adult in authorised investments;

(l) continuing investments of the adult, including taking up rights to issues of new shares, or options for new shares, to which the adult becomes entitled by the adult's existing shareholding;

(m) undertaking a real estate transaction for the adult;

(n) dealing with land for the adult under the Land Act 1994 or Land Title Act 1994;

(o) undertaking a transaction for the adult involving the use of the adult's property as security (for example, for a loan or by way of a guarantee) for an obligation the performance of which is beneficial to the adult;

(p) a legal matter relating to the adult's financial or property matters;

(q) withdrawing money from, or depositing money into, the adult's account with a financial institution.

A personal matter, for an adult, is a matter, other than a special personal matter or special health matter, relating to the adult's care, including the adult's health care, or welfare, including, for example, a matter relating to 1 or more of the following--

(a) where the adult lives;

(b) with whom the adult lives;

(c) whether the adult works and, if so, the kind and place of work and the employer;

(d) what education or training the adult undertakes;

(e) whether the adult applies for a licence or permit;

(f) day-to-day issues, including, for example, diet and dress;

(g) health care of the adult;

(h) whether to consent to a forensic examination of the adult;

Editor's note--

See also section 248A (Protection for person carrying out forensic examination with consent).

(i) a legal matter not relating to the adult's financial or property matter;

(j) a restrictive practice matter under chapter 5B;

(k) seeking help and making representations about the use of restrictive practices for an adult who is the subject of a containment or seclusion approval under chapter 5B.

A special personal matter, for an adult, is a matter relating to 1 or more of the following--

(a) making or revoking the adult's will;

(b) making or revoking a power of attorney, enduring power of attorney or advance health directive of the adult;

(c) exercising the adult's right to vote in a Commonwealth, State or local government election or referendum;

(d) consenting to adoption of a child of the adult under 18 years;

(e) consenting to marriage of the adult.

Editor's note--

An attorney under an enduring document or a guardian may not be given power for a special personal matter.

A health matter, for an adult, is a matter relating to health care, other than special health care, of the adult.

(1) Health care, of an adult, is care or treatment of, or a service or a procedure for, the adult--

(a) to diagnose, maintain, or treat the adult's physical or mental condition; and

(b) carried out by, or under the direction or supervision of, a health provider.

(2) Health care, of an adult, includes withholding or withdrawal of a life-sustaining measure for the adult if the commencement or continuation of the measure for the adult would be inconsistent with good medical practice.

(3) Health care, of an adult, does not include--

(a) first aid treatment; or

(b) a non-intrusive examination made for diagnostic purposes; or

(c) the administration of a pharmaceutical drug if--

(i) a prescription is not needed to obtain the drug; and

(ii) the drug is normally self-administered; and

(iii) the administration is for a recommended purpose and at a recommended dosage level.

Example of paragraph (b)--

a visual examination of an adult's mouth, throat, nasal cavity, eyes or ears

(1) A life-sustaining measure is health care intended to sustain or prolong life and that supplants or maintains the operation of vital bodily functions that are temporarily or permanently incapable of independent operation.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), each of the following is a life-sustaining measure--

(a) cardiopulmonary resuscitation;

(b) assisted ventilation;

(c) artificial nutrition and hydration.

(3) A blood transfusion is not a life-sustaining measure.

Good medical practice is good medical practice for the medical profession in Australia having regard to--

(a) the recognised medical standards, practices and procedures of the medical profession in Australia; and

(b) the recognised ethical standards of the medical profession in Australia.

A special health matter, for an adult, is a matter relating to special health care of the adult.

Editor's note--

An attorney under an enduring document or a guardian may not be given power for a special health matter.

However, an adult may give a direction about a special health matter in an advance health directive. Alternatively, in particular circumstances the tribunal may consent to particular special health care--see section 68.

Special health care, of an adult, is health care of the following types--

(a) removal of tissue from the adult while alive for donation to someone else;

Editor's note--

For the situation after the adult has died, see the Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979, particularly section 22.

(b) sterilisation of the adult;

(c) termination of a pregnancy of the adult;

(d) participation by the adult in special medical research or experimental health care;

(e) electroconvulsive therapy or psychosurgery for the adult;

(f) prescribed special health care of the adult.

(1) For an adult, removal of tissue for donation to someone else includes removal of tissue from the adult so laboratory reagents, or reference and control materials, derived completely or partly from pooled human plasma may be given to the other person.

(2) Tissue is--

(a) an organ, blood or part of a human body; or

(b) a substance that may be extracted from an organ, blood or part of a human body.

(1) Sterilisation is health care of an adult who is, or is reasonably likely to be, fertile that is intended, or reasonably likely, to make the adult, or ensure the adult is, permanently infertile.

Examples of sterilisation--

endometrial oblation, hysterectomy, tubal ligation and vasectomy

(2) Sterilisation does not include health care primarily to treat organic malfunction or disease of the adult.

Termination, of a pregnancy of an adult, does not include health care primarily to treat organic malfunction or disease of the adult.

Health care primarily to treat organic malfunction or disease, of an adult, is health care without which an organic malfunction or disease of the adult is likely to cause serious or irreversible damage to the adult's physical health.

Examples--

1 Health care involving sterilisation may be primarily to treat organic malfunction or disease if the adult has cancer affecting the reproductive system or cryptorchidism.

2 A procedure involving termination of a pregnancy may be primarily to treat organic malfunction if the adult is a pregnant woman requiring abdominal surgery for injuries sustained in an accident.

(1) Special medical research or experimental health care, for an adult, means--

(a) medical research or experimental health care relating to a condition the adult has or to which the adult has a significant risk of being exposed; or

(b) medical research or experimental health care intended to gain knowledge that can be used in the diagnosis, maintenance or treatment of a condition the adult has or has had.

(2) Special medical research or experimental health care does not include--

(a) psychological research; or

(b) approved clinical research.

(1) Clinical research is--

(a) medical research intended to diagnose, maintain or treat a condition affecting the participants in the research; or

(b) a trial of drugs or techniques involving the carrying out of health care that may include the giving of placebos to some of the participants in the trial.

(1A) However, a comparative assessment of health care already proven to be beneficial is not medical research.

Examples--

a comparative assessment of the effects of different forms of administration of a drug proven to be beneficial in the treatment of a condition, for example, a continuous infusion, as opposed to a once-a-day administration, of the drug

a comparative assessment of the angle at which to set a tilt-bed to best assist an adult's breathing

(2) Approved clinical research is clinical research approved by the tribunal.

(3) The tribunal may approve clinical research only if the tribunal is satisfied about the following matters--

(a) the clinical research is approved by an ethics committee;

(b) any drugs or techniques on trial in the clinical research are intended to diagnose, maintain or treat a condition affecting the participants in the research;

(c) the research will not involve any known substantial risk to the participants or, if there is existing health care for the particular condition, the research will not involve known material risk to the participants greater than the risk associated with the existing health care;

(d) the development of any drugs or techniques on trial has reached a stage at which safety and ethical considerations make it appropriate for the drugs or techniques to be made available to the participants despite the participants being unable to consent to participation;

(e) having regard to the potential benefits and risks of participation, on balance it is not adverse to the interests of the participants to participate.

(4) The fact that a trial of drugs or techniques will or may involve the giving of placebos to some of the participants does not prevent the tribunal from being satisfied it is, on balance, not adverse to the interests of the participants to participate.

(5) The tribunal's approval of clinical research does not operate as a consent to the participation in the clinical research of any particular person.

Electroconvulsive therapy is the application of electric current to specific areas of the head to produce a generalised seizure that is modified by general anaesthesia and the administration of a muscle relaxing agent.

Psychosurgery is a neurosurgical procedure to diagnose or treat a mental illness, but does not include a surgical procedure for treating epilepsy, Parkinson's disease or another neurological disorder.

Prescribed special health care means health care prescribed under a regulation for this section.

A legal matter, for an adult, includes a matter relating to--

(a) use of legal services to obtain information about the adult's legal rights; and

(b) use of legal services to undertake a transaction; and

(c) use of legal services to bring or defend a proceeding before a court, tribunal or other entity, including an application under the Succession Act 1981, part 4 or an application for compensation arising from a compulsory acquisition; and

Editor's note--

The Succession Act 1981, part 4 enables the Supreme Court to make provision for a dependant of a deceased person from the deceased person's estate if adequate provision is not made from the estate for the dependant's proper maintenance and support.

(d) bringing or defending a proceeding, including settling a claim, whether before or after the start of a proceeding.