Project 114 – Guardianship and Administration
The Law Reform Commission of Western Australia is to review, provide advice and make recommendations for consideration by the Western Australian Government on new legislation to enhance and update the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990 (WA).
Due to the volume and complexity of this review the Commission decided to publish its Discussion Paper in two parts.
Discussion Paper – Volume 2 (PDF, 3.5MB) focuses on other decision-making mechanisms in the Act such as enduring instruments (enduring powers of attorney and enduring powers of guardianship) as well as advance health directives. Volume 2 discusses the Act’s provisions for decision-making about medical treatment, medical research, and restrictive practices and the role of the State Administrative Tribunal. In addition, it addresses some matters we have been specifically asked to consider in carrying out our review, namely the role and identity of decision-makers under the Act compared to the Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth) and the Act’s confidentiality requirements.
Discussion Paper Volume 1 (PDF, 1.5MB) canvasses various issues including whether Western Australia should adopt a supported decision-making model, the roles and responsibilities of guardians and administrators, the concept of capacity, and the statutory functions of the Public Advocate.
Project 113 - Sexual Offences
The Law Reform Commission welcomes the tabling in State Parliament of it’s Final Report about Western Australia’s sexual offence laws.
The Attorney General tabled in Parliament on 15 May 2024 the Project 113 Sexual Offences - Final Report (PDF, 4.07MB)
The Final Report examines issues and makes recommendations to modernise and improve Western Australia’s sexual offence laws. It reviews matters such as the definition of consent, the circumstances in which there is no consent, the defence of mistaken belief in consent, the directions given by judges to juries in sexual offence trials, Western Australia’s substantive sexual offences and the maximum penalties for sexual offences.
