Guardianship and financial management orders

Guardianship orders can be made by the:

• Guardianship Division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal
• Mental Health Review Tribunal
• Supreme Court of NSW.

A guardianship order can be made about a person who can’t make decisions for themselves. A guardian can make decisions about:

• where the person should live
• what support services they should use
• what healthcare and medical treatment they should receive
• who can visit them.

A guardian can be a relative, a friend or the NSW Public Guardian. More than one person can be appointed as guardian. 

A guardianship order can only be made if:

• you have a disability, and
• because of that disability, you need a guardian because you are not able to manage one or more life activities.

Just having a disability is not enough for an order to be made. The disability must restrict one or more major life activities to the extent that you need supervision or help or training for you to gain the skills necessary to function in the community.

A guardianship order is different to an Enduring Guardian. An Enduring Guardian is when a person still has the mental capacity to appoint another person to make these decisions for them if at a later date they are unable to make decisions for themselves.

Financial management orders can be made when a person doesn’t have the capacity to make their own financial decisions. The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal or Mental Health Review Tribunal can appoint someone else to make financial decisions for them.

If an order is made by the Mental Health Review Tribunal, they will appoint the NSW Trustee & Guardian as the financial manager. NSW Trustee & Guardian will manage the property, business and financial interests of the person, consulting with that person and their friend, relative, guardian or care provider.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) can only make a Financial Management Order if they have considered your ability to manage your affairs and:

• you aren’t able to manage those affairs

• there is a need for someone else to manage those affairs on your behalf, and

• it is in your best interest for an order to be made.

A Financial Management Order is different to a Power of Attorney. A person who has capacity to make their own decisions can appoint a Power of Attorney to make financial decisions for them, but a Financial Management Order can only be made if the person no longer has that capacity.

If a person wants to put in place a power for someone to act on their behalf, this is called a Power of Attorney. For more information, see Powers of Attorney.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) can only make a Financial Management Order if they have considered your ability to manage your affairs and:

• you aren’t able to manage those affairs
• there is a need for someone else to manage those affairs on your behalf and
• it is in your best interest for an order to be made.

The Mental Health Review Tribunal can only make a Financial Management Order about a person who is currently an inpatient at a mental health facility, although the order can continue to operate if that person is released from hospital at a later date.

The Mental Health Review Tribunal, the Guardianship Division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) and the NSW Supreme Court can review orders, including changing the orders or revoking (cancelling) them. 

The Mental Health Review Tribunal can only revoke orders made by itself or a magistrate. NCAT can review the following orders:

• Enduring Guardian
• Guardianship Order
• Power of Attorney
• Financial Management Order.

If you are the person who the orders have been made about, you can apply to have the orders reviewed.

Anyone who has a genuine concern for the welfare of a person who may not have decision-making capacity can apply to NCAT for a review of the orders. 

For more information, see NCAT Guardianship Division application process.