GX v NSW Trustee and Guardian [2018] NSWSC 1180

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: GX v NSW Trustee and Guardian [2018] NSWSC 1180 Hearing dates: 3, 22, 23 & 31 August, 24 October and 21 November 2017 Date of orders: 03 August 2018 Decision date: 04 August 2018 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Slattery J Decision: Plaintiff's application for an order for revocation of the protected estate management orders made against her is refused. Catchwords: GUARDIANSHIP – protected person – protected estate management orders in place in respect of the protected person who brings these proceedings – the plaintiff seeks the revocation of the existing protected estate management orders – the plaintiff is self-represented – whether the plaintiff is capable of managing her affairs. Legislation Cited: NSW Trustee and Guardian Act 2009, ss 41 and 86 Vexatious Proceedings Act 2008 Cases Cited: P v R [2003] NSWSC 819 P v NSW Trustee and Guardian [2015] NSWSC 579 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Plaintiff: GX Defendant: NSW Trustee and Guardian Representation: Solicitors

Plaintiff: in person Defendant: R. Sawtell File Number(s): (2016/238747) Publication restriction: No

Judgment 1. The plaintiff is a protected person by virtue of orders made in this Court's Equity Division Protective List (Proceedings No. 29 of 2001) on 9 September 2003: P v R [2003] NSWSC 819, Barrett J. 2. The plaintiff now seeks in these proceedings (2016/238747) to revoke the protected estate management orders affecting her. This judgment decides the question against the plaintiff, and concludes that those orders should not be revoked. 3. The plaintiff appeared for herself throughout the proceedings. The Court dispensed with much of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 ("UCPR") which requires a protected person such as the plaintiff only to appear by a tutor. However, it was apparent that no tutor could be found for her to conduct these proceedings. If the Court had not dispensed with the rules, she would not have had the opportunity to present her case in person. This procedure is not uncommonly permitted by the Court on such applications in the protective list: P v NSW Trustee and Guardian [2015] NSWSC 579, Lindsay J. 4. Ms Rachel Sawtell, solicitor, appeared for the defendant, the NSW Trustee and Guardian ("NSWTG") throughout the proceedings. Ms Sawtell provided considerable assistance to the Court so that the plaintiff's application could be presented to its best advantage. The NSWTG neither consents to nor opposes the plaintiff's application for revocation of the protected estate management orders. 5. Simply put, the plaintiff contends in her case that she is now capable of managing her affairs and that the existing order should be revoked. She says that she can do her own banking, manage her own money, pay her own bills and should be permitted to manage her own financial affairs. She deeply resents the control over her life by the NSWTG which she wishes to throw off by having Barrett J's orders revoked. She says she does, in fact, manage some smaller amounts of money from her pension, which is proof that she could manage her financial affairs generally. But the evidence that she advanced herself and the medical evidence obtained about her paints quite a different picture about her capacity to manage her financial affairs.