PRINCIPLES TO BE OBSERVED

Where a guardian or an administrator, the Public Advocate, the Guardianship Board, a court or any other person or body makes any decision or order in relation to a person or a person's estate, the Guardianship and Administration Act 1993 s 5 sets out principles that must be observed. Consideration must be given to:

what, in the opinion of the decision maker, would have been the wishes of the person if he or she were not mentally incapacitated
the present wishes of the person (where it is possible to establish these)
the adequacy of existing informal arrangements relating to care of the person and management of his or her financial affairs and to the desirability of not disturbing those arrangements
the least restriction of the person's rights and personal autonomy.