GAA – End of appointment

If you are unfamiliar with guardianship and administration law, you may want to first read GAA – Guardianship and Administration toolkit

This fact sheet outlines the circumstances in which the appointment of a guardianship or administrator ends.

 

Lapse of appointment

The period of appointment may be limited by the terms of the order making the appointment. An appointment will lapse in accordance with the terms of the order.

In any event, the Tribunal must review an appointment at least every 5 years in which they may decide to change or revoke the appointment: s28(1) Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 (Qld) (GAA Act) (see below).

Automatic revocation

For guardians and administrators:

An appointment ends if:

• the guardian or administrator becomes a paid carer or health provider for the Adult; or
• the guardian or administrator becomes the service provider for a residential service where the Adult is a resident; or
• if the guardian or administrator and the Adult are married when the appointment is made-the marriage is dissolved; or
• if the guardian or administrator and the Adult are in a registered relationship when the appointment is made-the registered relationship is terminated under the Relationships Act 2011, part 2, division 4; or
• the guardian or administrator dies; or
• the Adult dies: s26(1) GAA Act.

For administrators only:

An appointment will also end if the administrator becomes bankrupt or insolvent: s26(2) GAA Act.

In the case of a missing person, the appointment of an administrator ends if the coroner finds the Adult has died; or the court makes a declaration that the Adult has died; or the death is registered: s 26(2) GAA Act.

Effect of revocation

If the appointment was a joint appointment, the remaining joint administrators and/or guardians remain jointly appointed and may exercise power for the matter: s26(4) GAA Act.

If there are no other administrators or guardians then the Tribunal may appoint another guardian or administrator, unless it considers the Adult has regained decision making capacity or informal arrangements are adequate: s12(1) GAA Act.

Withdrawal from appointment

A guardian or administrator can only withdraw from an appointment with the Tribunal’s leave: s27(1) GAA Act.

If the Tribunal grants leave, then the Tribunal may appoint someone else as a replacement: s27(2)(a) GAA Act.

If the administrator gave notice to the Registrar of Titles upon their appointment pursuant to s 21 GAA Act, the registrar of the Tribunal must take reasonable steps to advise the Registrar of Titles of the withdrawal. However, the withdrawing administrator must pay the applicable fee to the titles office, unless the Tribunal orders otherwise: s27(2)(b) and s27(4) GAA Act.

Removal by order of the tribunal

If the appointment is reviewed by the Tribunal, either due to periodic review, on the Tribunal’s own initiative or upon application, the Tribunal may:

• Revoke the appointment;
• Continue the appointment or change its terms; or
• Change the appointee: s31 GAA Act.

Section 31 sets out criteria for removal of an appointee for incompetence.

See our fact sheet GAA – Review of appointment.

Notification requirements

If an appointment is automatically revoked, then the former guardian or administrator must advise the Tribunal in writing of the end of the appointment, unless revocation was a result of the death of the guardian or administrator or it is revocation of a guardian for a restrictive practice matter: s26(3) GAA Act.

If the Tribunal changes or revokes an appointment or is advised of the ending of an appointment, the registrar of the Tribunal must take reasonable steps to advise the Adult and any remaining guardians or administrators of the change, revocation or ending: s32A(2) GAA Act.

For appointments involving land, both the registrar of the Tribunal and any remaining administrators must notify the Registrar of Titles of the automatic revocation: s32A(2) GAA Act.

This resource is current as of 30 June 2023

The information in this resource is for general information purposes only and should not be relied on as legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact LawRight or another lawyer. LawRight can only give advice to people who are eligible for our services.