Jim* suffered a traumatic brain injury due to an accident. When his wife filed for divorce, the Public Trustee was appointed by Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) to manage his finances.
As his financial administrator, Queensland Public Trustee (QPT) represented Jim throughout his divorce proceedings. In addition, QPT successfully secured him a total permanent disability (TPD) claim from his superannuation fund.
Jim was in a significant amount of debt before his accident. QPT negotiated on his behalf with several organisations for a reduction or waiver of the debts. QPT also applied for a Disability Support Pension via Centrelink on Jim’s behalf, which was approved after a waiting period.
After Jim was discharged from the hospital and on the road to recovery, he was given the option to explore taking charge of his finances.
Jim can now manage some of his own bills independently, such as his streaming services and internet bills. However, due to his brain injury, he felt comfortable having QPT remain as his financial administrator and enjoys the peace of mind of QPT overlooking his finances and checking in if he is unsure whether he has paid a bill on time.
Jim is appreciative of QPT and has built strong relationships with his Trust Officers, while living independently in a private rental property with supports in place from his children and from disability support services.
QPT upholds Jim’s human rights by supporting him to live in a way that is comfortable and reasonable, with some control over his money as well as supporting him when required. QPT helps thousands of Queensland’s most vulnerable community members with impaired capacity, as their financial administrator, supporting them to live with dignity and respect.
*Name changed for privacy