Financial decision-making for vulnerable adults

Why this is important

State Trustees can be appointed as financial administrators for people who do not have the capacity to manage their own money due to disability, age or mental illness. Once appointed, State Trustees has extensive power to manage financial affairs including the payment of bills, rent, aged-care services and other daily expenses.

Under changes to the Guardianship and Administration Act 2019 (Vic), State Trustees must support a person to make their own decisions where they are able, and work with them to make decisions on their behalf if they are unable.

Each year, the Victorian Government invests substantial funding to improve State Trustees' service delivery and operations to meet the requirements of the Guardianship and Administration Act 2019. State Trustees must effectively oversee the financial matters of the vulnerable adults it has been entrusted to assist, otherwise these individuals may suffer significant disadvantages including missing out on services and loss of income from poorly managed assets.

In 2021–22, State Trustees did not meet its client satisfaction target. A new client experience index, introduced in 2022–23, provides more detail about service performance and client satisfaction. Initial results for this index, 0.87 against a target of 0.80, are positive.

What we plan to examine

We plan to examine whether State Trustees provides financial administration services that support the rights and interests of vulnerable adults.

Who we plan to examine

State Trustees.