My decisions

This information is not legal advice.

There are some decisions about your life that you might need to get legal advice about.

If you need legal advice, please contact your local state or territory Law Society or Community Law organisation.

You can also ask your family, carer, support worker, Provider or advocate to help you find a service in your local area.

Resource: Where can I go to Find Legal Advice? 

This resource is not a referral, it gives you some information of where you can start looking for legal organisations near you.

You can read this resource by yourself or you can ask your family and friends for help.

Where can I go to Find Legal Advice?

Before I turned 18 years old, my parents or guardians made decisions for me.

They were responsible for me.

When I turned 18, the law saw me as an adult.

There are laws that protect my right to make my own decisions as an adult.

These laws say:

• I can make my own decisions about how I live my life
• I can make my own legal decisions. Sometimes I may need help.
• I can tell people what my decisions are
• I am in charge of my own life
• I can make decisions that other people might disagree with
• Other people cannot force me to make a decision
• Even when I ask for help to make decisions, I still have the legal right to decide for myself.

I make decisions every day.

Some decisions I make on my own. Some decisions I make with the help of other people.

Sometimes I might make a decision that isn’t right for me.

That is OK. This is how I learn, just like everyone else. The more decisions I make, the better I will get at making decisions.

Decisions about my life include:

• The type of job I want
• Where I want to live
• How I spend my money
• The activities I want to do.

There are two ways people can help me make decisions:

• Supported decision making and
• Substitute decision making.

Resource: The Laws – Decision Making

There are laws that say adults have the right to make their own decisions.

There is a lot of information in these laws. This resource breaks down some important points.

You can read these resources by yourself or you can ask your family and friends for help.

The Laws – Decision Making

Supported decision making is really important to me.

Supported decision making means I have help to make decisions for myself.

When someone supports me to make decisions, they must believe I can make my own decisions.

When I am supported to make decisions, I can choose and follow my own goals.

• I can make choices about my life
• I can have control over the things that are important to me
• I can take my time
• I am given the information I need in a way that I understand
• I can break down the decision into smaller decisions, and make one decision at a time
• I think about the risks. Taking a risk can be a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes, I need help to make a decision about the risks
• I have the help I need
• Sometimes it is not enough to just tell me about my choices. Sometimes I need help to see what the risks are, if I make certain decisions.

I do NOT like it when people tell me what to do and try to change my decision.

I keep my legal rights to make my decisions, even when someone is supporting me.

The people who help me make decisions must:

• Ask me what I want to do
• Ask me what I think
• Listen to me
• Let me make my own decisions
• Give me the time I need to make my decisions
• Help me get the information that I need to make my decision
• Ask me if I can understand the information.

I like when people help me think about what I could do but do NOT tell me what to do. I like them to:

• Talk about all the things I could do
• Help me to understand the information I am given
• Help me tell others what I want
• Make sure people follow my decision.

There are different people I can ask to help me make decisions, I can:

• Ask my friends and family what they think
• Ask my supporters
• Ask my advocate
• Ask my support workers or Provider.

The people I ask to help me make decisions are part of my support network.

My support network includes formal and informal supporters.

My support network might change as I get older.

I can speak up if I am not happy with my support network.

I can ask people I know and trust to help me:

• Work through problems with my support network
• Make changes to my support network.

If I don’t have people I know and trust to help me, I can ask for an advocate to help me make changes.

I can make my support network stronger by building a bigger circle of support.

Resource: Informal Support

People who support you in making decisions, like family and friends you trust, are called your informal support network.

If you need help to strengthen your informal support network, there are things that you can do to create a stronger support network. In this resource, you can think about these ideas.

You can choose which one works best for you, and you can ask your family and friends for help.

Informal Support

A substitute decision maker is a person who makes some of my decisions for me.

These decisions can be about personal (including health) decisions or financial decisions.

If the law says I need help with some of my important decisions, like where I live or buying a car, I may need a Guardian or Administrator.

The law also says that a Guardian or Administrator will only be chosen to help me if I have taken all the steps of Supported Decision Making without success.

If I have a substitute decision-maker they will:

• Collect information from me
• Collect information from other people who know me well
• Use this information to make decisions on my behalf that are in my best interests.

My substitute decision-maker should always ask me what I want. They should tell me when they make important decisions that affect me.

What is a Guardian or Administrator?

A Guardian is the legal name of the person who helps me make decisions about my personal or health matters.

An Administrator is the legal name of the person who helps me make financial decisions, including about my money.

A Guardian and an Administrator can make some of my decisions or all of my decisions.

Guardian and Administrator responsibilities

The law says that any decisions my Guardian or Administrator makes for me must:

• Respect my human rights
• Respect me for who I am
• Respect my choices and independence
• Include me, and involve me in discussions and decisions that affect me
• Value me for the roles I have
• Keep me safe
• Keep my belongings safe
• Help me to live my good life.

When a Guardian or Administrator decides for me, they must:

• Ask me what I want to do
• Ask me what I think
• Listen to me
• Talk to my family
• Talk to people who know me well and who I trust
• Ask me if I can understand the information
• Look at all the choices available, not just the ones they think are right
• Make sure the decision they make is safe for me.

Resource: My Decisions – Helpful links factsheet

My Decisions – Helpful links factsheet

What does a Guardian do?

If I have a Guardian, they make decisions about my personal matters.

Personal matters include:

• Where I live, or who I live with
• Who I have contact with
• Where I work
• My education
• The services or supports I use
• Getting my driving license
• Daily activities
• The doctor I visit.

What does an Administrator do?

If I have an Administrator, they make decisions about my money, bank accounts and property.

It is the job of the Administrator to:

• Pay my bills
• Do my banking
• Sign contracts
• Make sure I have insurance
• Look after the money I earn.

Who can be a Guardian or Administrator?

A Guardian or Administrator must:

• Be over 18 years old
• Not be a paid carer or health Provider
• Be responsible.

The same person can be both my Guardian and Administrator, or they can be two different people.

A Guardian or Administrator can be:

• An individual who knows me well
• A family member
• A public guardian
• A public trustee.

How do I get a Guardian or Administrator?

I can ask to have a Guardian or Administrator or if people think I need help to make decisions, they might ask that one is set up for me.

A Guardian or Administrator can only be set up for me, if:

• Somebody can prove I am unable to make decisions with help
• There are concerns about my health and wellbeing and
• Decisions need to be made on my behalf.

To have a Guardian or Administrator set up, I have to go to a civil and administrative tribunal.

The civil and administrative tribunals decide:

• Whether a person needs a Guardian or Administrator
• If someone has applied to be my Guardian or Administrator, whether they are suitable to be either a Guardian or Administrator
• How to settle disagreements about who should be my Guardian or Administrator.

There is a civil and administrative tribunal in every state and territory across Australia.

Resource: Administrative Tribunals in Australia

Tribunals help people resolve an issue or dispute fairly and according to the law.

This resource has a list of Administrative Tribunals in Australia.

Administrative Tribunals in Australia

EASY READ - Supported Decision Making Easy Read Resources
Source: Western Australia’s Individualised Services

EASY READ - Template for Recording Supported Decision Making
Source: Western Australia’s Individualised Services

EASY READ - My Decision Making Toolkit
Source: ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service

EASY READ - 5 Steps of Supported Decision Making videos
Source: Inclusion Australia

EASY READ - Deciding With Support
Source: Flinders University and Council for Intellectual Disability

About Self Direction
Source: Western Australia’s Individualised Services

Supported Decision Making
Source: Western Australia’s Individualised Services

Decision Agency Resources
Source: Decision Agency

The 5 Steps of Supported Decision Making
Source: Inclusion Australia

Supported Decision Making Guide
Source: QAI & ADA Law

VIDEO: Human Rights: #2 Make Your Own Choices About Life | Self-Determination | WBPDD
Source: Self-Determination Channel (YouTube)

The La Trobe Support for Decision Making Practice Framework Learning Resource
Source: La Trobe University

Enabling Risk: Putting Positives First
Source: La Trobe University

How can we make it work? An approach to taking risks
Source: Aruma and Decision Agency