Restrictive Practices – Enduring Guardian Appointments and Aged Care
An enduring guardian is a legally appointed individual who makes personal, lifestyle and healthcare decisions on behalf of someone who becomes unable to do so themselves (either as a result of illness, injury, or disability).
Restrictive practices are interventions that limit an individual’s free movement and are typically used to manage challenging behaviours and reduce the risk of harm to an individual. These measures can include physical restraint, seclusion, mechanical restraint, environmental controls (such as putting up bed railings, or locking a door), and chemical restraints.
Recent Changes
Recent regulatory changes regarding restrictive practices now require that if a person is unable to provide informed consent, an enduring guardian must have a specific authority (granted in the Enduring Guardian Appointment) to provide written consent for any use of restrictive practices by an aged care provider. This change ensures that such measures are only used as a last resort and are subject to careful consideration.
Should you update your Enduring Guardian Appointment Document?
Updating an Enduring Guardian Appointment to include consent for restrictive practices will create a clear legal foundation for making decisions regarding a person’s healthcare, medical treatment, and lifestyle.
In NSW, an Enduring Guardian Appointment that does not include a restrictive practices clause can lead to several issues:
- Aged Care providers reserve the right to refuse entry for prospective patients whose documents do not authorise the use of restrictive practices.
- Without authority to consent to restrictive practices, an enduring guardian may be unable to act in urgent situations. This could result in harm to the individual and cause undue stress if a guardian is forced to seek an order from the Guardianship Tribunal to gain authority to act.
If your Enduring Guardian Appointment, or other estate planning documents require updating, please contact Josephine Heesh at jheesh@codea.com.au.