The Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act (PPPR) allows the Family Court to make two types of orders: personal orders and property orders:
These orders are generally related to the welfare of a person who is incapacitated. The Court can make a personal order to:
• Appoint a Welfare Guardian to make decisions about the person's care and welfare
• Provide instructions about the person's personal care and welfare, such as where they'll live, who will take care of them, and their medical treatment
• Order someone to pay a person for work they've done or are going to do
• Order a parent to make arrangements for their child's personal care after the parent's death
• Appoint a Property Administrator to manage property or income/benefits of the subject person if the total of these assets is below a certain threshold.
These orders deal with situations where a Property Manager has been appointed by the Family Court. The court can make a property order to appoint a Property Manager to administer property or income where either the assets or income are above the threshold amounts set out in the PPPR Act.
A personal order usually ends on a specific date, when all tasks set in the order have been done, or 12 months after the order was made, whichever comes first. The Court can set a date to review the order, and the people involved in the order can ask for a review at any time.
The Family Court can also establish the following roles to support people who are unable to make decisions for themselves:
Welfare guardian: Makes decisions about health and welfare
Property manager or administrator: Makes decisions about property and money.
The PPPR Act helps people exercise and develop their capacity to the greatest extent possible. Whichever option is used, the duty to encourage and maximise the capacity of the person to make their own decisions remains. The Court can make an interim order in relation to Welfare Guardians and Property Administrators if a decision needs to be made urgently. These order can last up to 6 months.
The Court can also make a temporary order in relation to a Property Manager. Temporary orders for Property Managers, made ‘without notice’ to the other party, last for a maximum of 3 months from the date of the order. If the other party objects and defends the order, a hearing will be set by the Court. If the person for whom the manager is acting dies, or if the Court ends the property order, the Property Manager's duties cease unless the Court orders otherwise.
