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CLAUSE NOTES
Guardianship and Administration Amendment Bill 2015
Clause 1: Short title
The Clause provides that the Act may be cited as the
Guardianship and Administration Amendment Act 2015.
Clause 2: Commencement
The Act will commence on the day on which it receives the
Royal Assent.
Clause 3: Principal Act
A reference in this Act to the Principal Act is a reference to the
Guardianship and Administration Act 1995.
Clause 4: Section 3 amended (Interpretation)
Definitions of the terms “intimate forensic procedure” and “non-
intimate forensic procedure” are inserted into the Principal Act.
These definitions duplicate those in the Forensic Procedures Act
2000. The definition of “medical or dental treatment” in the
Principal Act is also amended so that the term “medical or
dental treatment” now includes an “intimate forensic procedure”
or a “non-intimate forensic procedure”.
Clause 5: Section 4 amended (Meaning of “person responsible”)
Amends section 4, subsection (1) of the Principal Act so that, in
the case of an intimate forensic procedure or a non-intimate
forensic procedure the Public Guardian can be deemed to be
the person responsible for the incapacitated person.
New subsection (1A) is inserted to provide a framework for
how and when the Public Guardian is to become the person
responsible for the incapacitated person. A police officer or
registered practitioner may request the Public Guardian to
become the person responsible for an incapacitated person if
the police officer or registered medical practitioner reasonably
believes that the carrying out of the procedure on the person
would be in the person’s best interests having regard to certain
matters. These matters are outlined at new subsection (1B).
New subsection (1B) provides that the matters to be taken into
account are that a person responsible, who is not the public
guardian, has refused to provide consent to the carrying out of
the procedure or is unavailable, inaccessible or consent cannot
be sought within a reasonable time; or that there is no person
responsible who is not the Public Guardian; or that it is not in
the best interests of the person for the consent of a person
responsible who is not the Public Guardian to be sought.
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Clause 6: Section 43 amended (Consent by persons responsible)
Inserts additional criteria for a person responsible to consider
when consenting to a forensic procedure.
Clause 7: Section 45 amended (Consent of Board)
The Guardianship and Administration Board may provide
consent to the carrying out of an intimate forensic procedure or
a non-intimate forensic procedure if the Board is satisfied that it
is in the best interests of an incapacitated person. The Board
must take into account that a police officer or registered medical
practitioner: suspects that that person is the victim of a crime;
and reasonably believes that the person responsible for that
person may have committed the crime of which that person is
suspected of being a victim; or that that person’s interests would
not be protected if the consent of a person responsible is
sought.
Clause 8: Repeal of Act
Is a standard clause in all amending legislation which automatically
repeals the amending legislation after the amendments
commence. The provisions that the amending legislation inserts
into the Principle Act still remain in force after the repeal of the
Amending Act.
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