Historically, patients who are waiting for guardianship matters to be heard by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) experience extended lengths of stay with associated significant costs to the organisation since they must remain in hospital while waiting for the outcome or determination of a guardianship hearing. NCAT Guardianship Division conducts hearings for persons identified as lacking capacity to make informed decision that impact their daily lives, such as decisions related to healthcare, accommodation and/or lifestyle.
NSW Health, the Premier’s Implementation Unit, NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), NSW Treasury and NSW Trustee and Guardian (TAG) partnered to review and identify options for reducing processing times for hospital patients requiring guardianship decisions. A six month pilot was conducted in January 2017 with the following interventions:
The final pilot evaluation identified benefits for patients and the system including:
For further assistance please contact the Guardianship Relationship manager Phone: (02) 9461 7222.