TBT [2025] QCAT 441 (11 November 2025)

Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld), s 13, s 15, s 25, s 48

YK, representative of the Public Trustee of Queensland

A policy officer from the Department of Women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and Multiculturalism (observing)

• [1] TBT (the adult) is 18 years of age and of Torres Strait Islander heritage. Since his recent release from incarceration, TBT has been residing with a family member.
• [2] On 30 July 2025, the Tribunal received applications for the following:

(a) The appointment of a guardian and administrator for TBT;

(b) The appointment of guardian and administrator under interim order for TBT;

(c) Miscellaneous matters, seeking a confidentiality order over specific documentation received by the Tribunal.

• [3] In a decision on 4 August 2025, the Tribunal appointed, under an interim order, the Public Trustee of Queensland as administrator for TBT for all financial matters and the Public Guardian as guardian for TBT for the matters of accommodation, health care, provision of services (including in relation to the National Disability Insurance Scheme) and legal matters not relating to the adult's financial or property matters. The Tribunal directed the guardian and administrator to provide a written account of their respective actions as appointees to the Tribunal no later than three (3) working days prior to the hearing. The appointments were to remain current for three (3) months or, if the Tribunal were to make a further order in these matters, until the date of the further order, whichever was to be the sooner.
• [4] On the same day, the Tribunal made a pre-hearing confidentiality order whereby pursuant to sections 109 and 110 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 (Qld) ('GAA') the following documents were to be confidential and must not be disclosed to TBT:

(a) Medical reports in relation to TBT which are identified as documents MED001, MED005, MED006, MED007, MED008 and MED009; and

(b) Application for miscellaneous matters - Guardianship dated 30 July 2025.

• [5] The pre-hearing confidentiality order was to be vacated at the start of the oral hearing under section 110(2) of the GAA and the member conducting the hearing was to decide whether to make a further confidentiality order.
• [6] On 3 November 2025, the Tribunal heard and determined the applications for the appointment of a guardian and administrator for TBT and the application for a confidentiality order.
• [7] At the hearing of 3 November 2025, in its determination of the application for the appointment of a guardian for TBT, the Tribunal appointed the Public Guardian as guardian for TBT for the personal matters of accommodation, health care, provision of services (including in relation to the National Disability Insurance Scheme) and legal matters not relating to the adult's financial or property matters. In its determination of the application for the appointment of an administrator for TBT, the Tribunal appointed the Public Trustee of Queensland as administrator for TBT for all financial matters. The appointments are to remain current until further order of the Tribunal. The appointments are reviewable and are to be reviewed in three (3) years.
• [8] At the hearing of 3 November 2025, the Tribunal also made a confidentiality order over several documents on the Tribunal's file, whereby such documents were to be withheld from TBT.
• [9] The reasons for the decision in relation to the confidentiality order dated 3 November 2025 follow.

• [10] Confidentiality orders are a type of limitation order.[1]
• [11] Section 103 of the GAA provides that each active party or person the Tribunal considers has a sufficient interest in a proceeding must be given reasonable opportunity to access and make submissions about a document or other information before the Tribunal that the Tribunal considers is credible, relevant and significant to an issue in the proceeding.
• [12] Section 104 of the GAA provides the basis of the Tribunal's consideration for a limitation order.
• [13] Under section 109(1) of the GAA, if the Tribunal is satisfied it is necessary to avoid serious harm or injustice to a person, the Tribunal may, but only to the extent necessary, by a confidentiality order, withhold from an active party or other person a document, or part of a document, before the Tribunal. Section 109(2) of the GAA states that, to the extent a document or part of a document contains health information for a person, or to the extent other information is health information for a person, serious harm to the person includes significant health detriment to the person.
• [14] Section 110(2) of the GAA provides that a confidentiality order made before a hearing is vacated at the start of the hearing.
• [15] Section 111 of the GAA states that each active party, and any entity that would be adversely affected by a proposed limitation order, has standing to be heard in relation to the making of the order.

Should the Tribunal make a confidentiality order?

• [16] The application before the Tribunal seeks specific documents to be inaccessible to certain parties due to the risk of serious physical, emotional and psychological harm, including significant health detriment, to persons should the information be disclosed.
• [17] Upon the confidentiality order of 4 August 2025 being vacated at the commencement of the hearing, KJ (a social worker from an acute mental health unit in a regional hospital), the delegate of the Office of the Public Guardian and the representative of the Public Trustee of Queensland were invited to make oral submissions as to whether documents on the Tribunal's file should be withheld from certain persons.
• [18] KJ submitted that a new confidentiality order should be made. He sought for the same documents that were withheld from the adult in the pre-hearing confidentiality order to remain withheld from the adult in order to avoid serious harm to the adult. The serious harm described by KJ included significant health detriment.
• [19] The delegate of the Office of the Public Guardian and the representative of the Public Trustee of Queensland made no submissions in relation to the application for a confidentiality order.
• [20] Whilst neither serious harm nor injustice are defined in the GAA, case law has found that 'serious harm' means physical or psychological injury, whether temporary or permanent, that endangers or is likely to endanger human life, or is likely to be significant and longstanding.[2]
• [21] In this matter, the Tribunal adopts the same approach taken by the Tribunal in the matter mentioned above concerning JSM[3] as to the meaning of 'serious harm' for the purposes of section 109 of the GAA.
• [22] In addition to being directly relevant and significant, the information contained within the identified documents is credible, as the information came from sources deemed to be reliable by the Tribunal.
• [23] Given the nature of the information contained within the documents, it is reasonable to deduce that the adult would likely suffer physical or psychological injury, whether temporary or permanent, that endangers or is likely to endanger human life, or is likely to be significant and longstanding should the information contained within the certain documents be accessed by the adult.
• [24] The Tribunal was therefore persuaded by the submissions of KJ and the information within the relevant documents that non-disclosure of the material to the adult would be necessary to avoid serious harm to him.
• [25] For these reasons, the Tribunal is satisfied that the non-disclosure of the identified documents is necessary to avoid serious harm to TBT and that the non-disclosure is only to the extent necessary by the making of the confidentiality order.

• [26] Accordingly, the Tribunal orders that pursuant to section 109 of the GAA the following documents are confidential and must not be disclosed to TBT:

(a) Medical reports in relation to TBT which are identified as documents MED001, MED005, MED006, MED007, MED008 and MED009; and

(b) Application for miscellaneous matters - Guardianship dated 30 July 2025:

• [27] In the Tribunal's consideration of the application for a confidentiality order, the Tribunal is required to interpret the statutory provisions, to the extent possible that is consistent with their purpose, in a way that is compatible with human rights.[4] A human right may be subject under law only to reasonable limits that can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom.[5]
• [28] TBT's rights to privacy[6] and recognition as a person before the law entitled to equal protection without discrimination[7] are engaged and limited by the making of the confidentiality order. Taking into account these findings in relation to the criteria set out in the GAA, the Tribunal is satisfied the limits imposed by the order are reasonable and justified in accordance with section 13 of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld). The orders made are the least restrictive based on the information before the Tribunal.
• [29] As required under section 113 of the GAA, a copy of the Tribunal's reasons for its decision to make the limitation order must be given to all active parties and the Public Advocate.

[1] GAA s 100.

[2] DAA [2009] QGAAT 8, [42]; JSM [2011] QCAT 351, [8] ('JSM').

[4] Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) s 48.

[5] Ibid s 13.

[6] Ibid s 25.

[7] Ibid s 15.