Apply the Queensland presumption of capacity with support
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Record that the Society's page presumes capacity, that capacity can be decision-specific, time-specific, and can fluctuate and change with support, and that a medical assessment needs the client's consent. Do not take a test from the handbook or the 2020 guidelines.
- What the lawyer must review
- The lawyer decides whether the presumption holds for this decision.
- Approve a medical assessment only with the client's consent.
- Check ASCR r 9, APP 11, and whether a breach is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Queensland. Presumption of capacity for the decision named.
Produce. A support note the lawyer uses before any capacity conclusion.
Have ready. The decision the lawyer named; The support the client already uses; Whether a medical assessment is proposed.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The client understands the retainer on a quiet morning and not when in pain. The note records that capacity can fluctuate and change with support. It does not conclude that the client cannot instruct.
Stop and hand it back when
- The lawyer asks for a medical report and consent is not recorded.
- The handbook is treated as opened.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Do not begin AI assistance until the responsible lawyer has defined and confirmed its permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- The note states the presumption. It does not find that capacity is absent.
- Any medical assessment is marked as needing the client's consent.
- No test is copied from the handbook or the 2020 guidelines.
- If the client cannot instruct even with support, stop and use the task that identifies who conducts the claim.
Sources
- Queensland Law Society: doubts about a client's capacity · 2026-10-23
- OAIC: APP 11 · 2026-10-23
The Queensland Handbook for Practitioners on Legal Capacity and the Capacity Assessment Guidelines 2020 were not opened.
This plan does not appoint a litigation guardian.