Capacity in Victorian Guardianship Law: Options for Reform

Abstract

The Victorian Guardianship and Administration Act 1986 (Vic) is currently under review by the Victorian Law Reform Commission. This article investigates the criteria that need to be established before a guardian can be appointed under the current Act, and draws on developments in other jurisdictions and in international law, as well as on expertise at Victoria's Office of the Public Advocate, to argue that these criteria should be amended. In particular, the article argues that the criteria should be more narrowly confined to those situations where an impairment renders an individual unable to make a specific decision, or when the failure to appoint a guardian to make a particular decision would place an individual at an unacceptable risk of harm.