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Where am I now? Lawlink > NSW Trustee and Guardian > Manager's Handbook > Getting Started
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Getting Started
There are several steps to formalising your authority to manage the managed person's financial affairs::
Step 1 – Appointment
Step 2 – Manager's Plan completed
Step 3 – Directions and Authorities document issued
Step 4 – Relevant people informed
Step 1 – Appointment
You will usually receive a financial management order appointing you as a Manager within 14 days of the hearing before the Supreme Court of New South Wales or Guardianship Tribunal.
Before you can commence duty as a Manager the NSW Trustee and Guardian must issue you with a document called Directions and Authorities.
Step 2 – Manager's Plan completed
The NSW Trustee and Guardian needs information from you about the managed person's assets and liabilities and their projected annual income and expenditure in order to prepare the Directions and Authorities. To provide the necessary information, you should complete the Manager’s Plan, a copy of which is included in this handbook as Appendix A or on NSW Trustee and Guardian’s website at www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/opc under Publications.
After receiving the completed form, a liaison officer at NSW Trustee and Guardian will contact you to arrange an appointment to discuss the powers and authorities you may need in order to manage the person's estate. A telephone discussion can be arranged if necessary.
Step 3 – Directions and Authorities document completed
Based on the information provided, the Directions and Authorities document sets out the powers you require as a Manager. It will include a number of standard powers, for example, to receive income and pay day-to-day expenses. The document will also include powers tailored to the particular financial situation that you will be managing.
Some non-standard powers that can be included in the Directions and Authorities are the powers to:
- Sell, purchase or lease real estate
- Investigate an incident and provide a report and recommendation
- Commence or defend legal proceedings.
The Directions and Authorities can be changed as circumstances require. If you need authorisation to do something that is not detailed in the document, you must write to the NSW Trustee and Guardian and ask for approval. Your liaison officer will be able to clarify whether or not you have the authority to take a particular course of action.
Where the Guardianship Tribunal makes a time limited order (reviewable/interim orders) the Directions and Authorities document will state an expiry or review date for the order. The Direction and Authorities document is invalid after the expiry date and after that date you must return it to NSW Trustee and Guardian. If the order is renewed you will receive a new document.
Step 4 – Relevant people informed
You need to inform the people and organisations that you deal with in managing the person's affairs that you have the legal authority to do so as a Manager. These organisations could include:
- banks and financial institutions where the managed person has funds invested
- Centrelink
- Department of Veteran's Affairs
- Australian Taxation Office, if tax returns are to be lodged
- NSW Office of State Revenue, if land tax is applicable
- insurance companies
- professional advisors such as the managed person's solicitor and accountant
- nursing home/hostel or other accommodation where the managed person lives
- debtors and creditors of the managed person such as the local council, telephone provider, gas/electricity provider, Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), Superannuation Funds
- Companies where the managed person has investments (including share registries).
Organisations may ask for a copy, or to sight the original, of the order appointing you as a Manager and your Directions and Authorities.
A sample letter which you could adapt to tell people about your appointment is included in this handbook in Appendix B.
Your Liaison Officer
The liaison officer acts as a link between you and the NSW Trustee and Guardian. Their role is to provide information to you and monitor how you perform as a Manager. They are responsible for:
developing and issuing the Directions and Authorities
ensuring you provide reports as required on your financial management
assessing your proposals to be given powers not initially included in the Directions and Authorities
examining your annual accounts
taking action if you do not comply with the directions of the NSW Trustee and Guardian.
While the liaison officer will provide a general guide to good process, it is not their role to provide step-by-step help on how you should carry out your duties or make decisions on your behalf.
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