triofans.blogg.se - 4th office review

The Queensland government has been under increased pressure following a two-year investigation of its Public Trustee office by another government agency - the Office of the Public Advocate. "I was already cutting back as much as possible, to how much in groceries I would get, on how much power I would use, how much water I would even use."

"They would just say, 'Oh, you need to cut down on your spending, 'cause you're spending too much.' and I'd say to them, 'How? The things I'm paying for are medical or have something to do with medical,'" Mr Vandenberg said. They're there to actually make money for themselves," he said. Overall, he paid $72,000 in financial administration and asset management fees. But the Public Trustee made the withdrawals at inopportune times which whittled his investment away to nothing. Mr Vandenberg needed to withdraw large amounts of money for the upkeep of his house and medical expenses. However, by then he had less than $1,500 left.

( Four Corners)Īfter 17 years, Mr Vandenberg had the Public Trustee orders revoked. "We want a system where people can actually get some form of compensation so that they can start trying to regain the lives that have been destroyed by the Public Trustee," she said.Ĭlinton Vandenberg suffered a brain injury in a car accident at the age of 14. "People who have suffered at the hands of the Public Trustee, lost everything, left with a few hundred dollars after having things taken to the tip or sold off at auction, had cars disappear, their belongings, no inventories made - why should they have to battle to get some level of compensation? The Tasmanian government has been under pressure since a scathing independent review last year found that its Public Trustee office had misunderstood its legislative role for over 26 years by making decisions without consulting its vulnerable clients.īefore the Four Corners' program went to air and with prominent publicity about the ABC investigation, the chair of the Public Trustee of Tasmania, Mark Scanlon, resigned unexpectedly on Friday.ĭo you have a story to share about the Public Trustee system?Įmail us at or for confidential tips visit here.ĬEO of Your say Advocacy Tasmania Leanne Groombridge is calling for a compensation scheme for those who have had their finances mismanaged. The Public Trustee system is similar to the conservatorships in the US which pop star Britney Spears was under for almost 14 years. Our investigation focused on the state government agencies that take over the affairs of Australians deemed to no longer have capacity. She was acquitted but found out last week that the had Trustee's office deducted $10,000 in legal fees from her mother's estate to gather evidence and help police build a case against her.

In 2019 Perth woman Siham Benz was accused by WA's Public Trustee of stealing from her dementia-stricken mother.

Included in those charges was $14,000 in "realty fees" to manage four empty blocks of bushland on the NSW Central Coast valued at just $20,000 in total.

A 66-year-old man with a brain injury, Peter Ristic, was charged more than $59,000 in fees by the same Queensland office over four years.

He has since returned home after a legal battle. The 72-year-old was charged about $250,000 in nursing home fees even though he told authorities he did not want to be there.

Brisbane man Chris Pearson, who has a memory disorder, is estimated to be about $1 million worse off following four and a half years under the office of Queensland's Public Trustee.

A team of forensic accountants helped Four Corners work through their financial documents, revealing mismanagement and extraordinary fees. The ABC went to the Supreme Court in Queensland and Western Australia to lift the ban on identifying former clients of the Public Trustee offices. Journalists can be fined or jailed for identifying them, even after they have died. Public Trustees have escaped media scrutiny because gag laws in most of the country stop 'clients' from talking publicly.

Chris Pearson's ordeal with public trustee cost him four and half years of his life.