Tasmanian lives overturned by Public Trustee involvement, advocacy group says

An independent review of the government office has been ordered after a number of complaints about its operations and conduct had been aired.

Advocacy Tasmania chief executive Leanne Groombridge in a submission to the review said there was no simply way to discuss the conduct of the Public Trustee.

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"This system has been operating for decades, altering the lives of thousands of people," she said.

Ms Grooombridge provided case studies which involved clients who had been refused requests to leave the Hobart Repatriation Hospital and the Roy Fagan Centre.

Another client had been denied access to belongings and advised by an administrator who had paid the person's debts that they would sell off the belongings as they were not deemed necessary or of value.

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The office banned the client from calling the Public Trustee on the matter.

Ms Groombridge said clients had told the advocacy service they were frequently banned from calling the Public Trustee or restricted to a certain number of calls over a period of time.

She said they had told the service that account managers were rude, belittling or dismissive of concerns from clients and trusted loved ones.

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Ms Groombridge said once advocates became involved in a problem with the Public Trustee, account managers tended to be more responsive. "There should not be a difference in how clients and advocates are treated," she said.

Community Legal Centres Tasmania policy officer Ben Bartl said the number of people whose financial affairs were managed by the Public Trustee had increased by 59 per cent over the past six years, from 559 people to 889 people.

Over that time, the number of full-time equivalent staff has dropped slightly.

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Mr Bartl said the Tasmanian Public Trustee had some of the lowest fees and charges in Australia with no fees charged to people with assets of less than $10,000.

"Nevertheless, we believe that Tasmania should adopt the best practice NSW model and waive all fees for represented persons with assets of less than $25,000," he said.

"We also believe that the Public Trustee should not impose standard charges of $3.20 for making client cash allowances, paying bills and reimbursing any payments made on behalf of a client."

"We do not believe that there is any justifiable correlation between the $3.20 charged per transaction and the cost of delivering the service."

George Town man Arthur Nash had his life turned upside down by the Tasmanian Public Trustee.

When the public body took control of his life, he was thrown into a nursing home that he was not allowed to leave, had his belongings sold off, and did not have access to any spare money for months on end.

Things changed for the better when he was appointed an advocate to act on his behalf.

Now, Mr Nash is in his own home and reunited with his dog Daniel.

"I was born free and now I'm free again," he said.

"The Public Trustee treated me very rough and it's not only me, they're doing it to other people too.

"The support from Advocacy Tasmania has been very good and understanding, and now everything is working out."

Advocacy Tasmania chief executive Leanne Groombridge said Mr Nash had been treated appallingly over the past 18 months.

"They didnt even speak to him before clearing out his house and disposing of his precious belongings and were still trying to find out about his assets," she said.

"He deserves an apology and compensation.

"For a person to have to rebuild their life after such an experience is shameful."

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