AddressThe responsibility of the position of Senior Guardian is to undertake structured decision-making in personal and health care matters for adults with impaired capacity where the Public Guardian is appointed as guardian or as attorney for personal matters, or acts as statutory health attorney of last resort, and to undertake representations on their behalf. In addition, the Senior Guardian provides advocacy around client matters. Senior Guardians ensure a client’s rights, interests, views, wishes and preferences are elevated and centred in all decision making and advocacy activities.
About the Office of the Public Guardian
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is an independent statutory office established to protect the rights, interests and wellbeing of adults with impaired decision-making capacity, and children and young people in the child protection system and those accommodated in disability services, Authorised Mental Health Services, residential health services and youth detention centres.
Key responsibilities
• Undertake structured decision-making for adults with impaired capacity where the Public Guardian is appointed as guardian or as attorney for personal matters, or acts as statutory health attorney of last resort, which includes:
o ensuring that decision-making processes comply with OPG policy and procedure, and the legislative framework of the Powers of Attorney Act 1998, Guardianship and Administration Act 2000, Public Guardian Act 2014 and the Disability Services Act 2006.
o performing duties on the after-hours on-call roster for health care matters.
• Advocate for Guardianship client's rights and interests to ensure their views, wishes and preferences are elevated and centred in all decision-making activities.
• Liaise with the registry of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and appear before the Tribunal as required.
• Provide professional level advice, information and support to the Public Guardian and her delegates, particularly in relation to positive behavior support and restrictive practices.
• Ensure all client-related documentation and guardianship activities are appropriately recorded, accurate and up-to-date, including QCAT reports, Decision reports, Visit reports, Health Care decisions and file running notes. Guardianship activities may include overnight travel to regional areas for up to a week.
• Use professional experience and expertise to evaluate and interpret behaviour support documents from an evidence-based perspective in order to assess their appropriateness to an individual's needs and circumstances.
• Work effectively as a team member and support others in a multi-disciplinary team to ensure the successful delivery of client services.
• Maintain positive relationships with people with impaired capacity, their families, service providers, advocates, government agencies and other interested stakeholders.
• Participate in community education/liaison activities as a representative of the Public Guardian including undertaking public speaking engagements.
Mandatory Qualifications, Conditions and Requirements
Possession of a C class drivers' licence is a mandatory requirement for this role, as travel is required to attend meetings, events and visits in a range of locations that are often not accessible by alternative means.
Applications to remain current for 12 months.
