Last amended: 31 January 2008
The Commission [2] may appoint trusteeship for a pensioner to any of the following:
Note: For aged care residents, it is prudent to appoint a neutral party such as the Public Trustee, rather than an employee of an aged care facility as trustee, to avoid the potential for conflict of interests in the management of the pensioner's money.
VEA ? [3]
A written application must be received by the Commission, and include the following:
In order to identify a proposed trustee and/or their relationship to the pensioner, a proof of identity check must be made on all applications.
More ? [4]
An application for appointment of a trustee must be supported by two professional certificates establishing that a person is infirm or otherwise incapable of managing their own affairs, and requires a trustee. At least one of the reports must be from a medical practitioner. The other may be from some other professional person e.g. a social worker.
Once approved, notification of the appointment is to be made in writing to the trustee, and include a copy of the terms and conditions of the trust.
More ? [5]
According to Section 179 [12]of the VEA [12], the Commission is a body corporate under the name of Repatriation Commission.
Trustee has two meanings depending on the context, (i) and (ii).
(i) a person who looks after someone else's affairs
According to section 202 of the VEA [12], a trustee is a person appointed by the Commission to administer the financial affairs of a pensioner who may be incapable of managing their own affairs for reasons such as:
These criteria include circumstances where a pensioner has a psychiatric disorder or a mental illness as a result of alcohol or drug addiction.
A trustee can be appointed, with or without the consent of the pensioner and once appointed, a trustee has full control of the pension payment.
(ii) a person responsible for administration of a trust
According to section 52ZO of the VEA [12], trustee has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 [13].
Links
[1] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/16935%23comment-form
[2] https://clik.dva.gov.au/%23
[3] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16935#tgt-cspol_part11_ftn118
[4] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16935#tgt-cspol_part11_ftn119
[5] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16935#tgt-cspol_part11_ftn120
[6] https://clik.dva.gov.au/service-eligibility-assistant-updates/all-determinations-order-date-signed-oldest-most-recent/determinations-under-vea
[7] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16935#ref-cspol_part11_ftn118
[8] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-2-applying-pension/22-proof-identity
[9] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16935#ref-cspol_part11_ftn119
[10] https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-11-administration-payments/113-agents-and-trustees/1133-trustees/payments-trustees
[11] https://clik.dva.gov.au/book/export/html/16935#ref-cspol_part11_ftn120
[12] http://clik.dva.gov.au/legislation-library
[13] http://www.comlaw.gov.au/comlaw/management.nsf/lookupindexpagesbyid/IP200401745?OpenDocument