Done By Law

Right to decide? Review of the Guardianship and Administration Act

The Victorian Law Commission recently undertook a review of the Guardianship and Administration Act and it has delivered a report to the Attorney General which is being tabled in Parliament within the week. The review recognised that the current guardianship laws in Victoria draw a sharp line between capacity and incapacity, and has looked at alternative arrangements which move from substituted decision making to supported decision making. Supported decision making has been recognised in the 2006 United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons With Disabilities and is defined by the Mental Disability Advocacy Council as an arrangement “premised on the fact that with proper support a person who would otherwise be deemed to lack capacity is, in fact, able to make personal decisions”. Tonight on Done By Law we discuss this important issue with Robyn Mills, the Program Manager for Victoria Legal Aid’s Mental Health & Disability Advocacy Program.