Before a Guardianship Division hearing

All NCAT Guardianship Division applications are reviewed to identify any possible risks being experienced by the person who is the subject of the application (‘the person’).

A Tribunal officer will contact the applicant, the person who is the subject of the application.  The officer may also contact other people who are most significantly involved in the matter. 

The applicant is responsible for providing relevant evidence to support their application. This should be given to NCAT with the application and the other parties. This includes medical and professional evidence about the person’s capacity to make his or her own decisions and information about any risk to the person​. 

Read the Providing information to the Guardianship Division factsheet (PDF , 193.6 KB) for information on confidentiality and disclosure of information provided to NCAT’s Guardianship Division. To find out who is a party to an application read our Who is a party to proceedings in the Guardianship Division factsheet (PDF , 72.6 KB).

Applicants must notify NCAT if the person’s situation changes and there is an increased risk to the person​.​

​​​When preparing the matter for hearing, NCAT will: 

• Ensure that the parties are aware of the application
  
• Allocate a date and venue for the hearing
  
• Send a notice of the hearing to all the parties to the application
  
• Prepare a report which briefly summarise issues, and the views of the person the subject of the application (if they are known).​
  

Applications for consent to medical or dental treatment are generally referred directly to the Tribunal for hearing, without the above steps being taken. The exception are applications involving special medical treatment, end of life issues or restrictive practices.