Public Trustee kicks man out of home after his aunt moves into nursing home

A Townsville man who was his aunt’s live-in carer has been evicted from their home, charged with trespass and had his belongings removed and dumped.

The man is no longer allowed to live in the house. Generic image.

A Townsville man who was his aunt’s live-in carer has been evicted from their home, charged with trespass and had his belongings removed and dumped – all by the Public Trustee of Queensland.

The victim, 49, says he is now homeless, angry and confused that his rights have been not only ignored, but trampled upon by a government body.

His 90-year-old aunt is now in a Townsville nursing home and is no longer capable of deciding her own affairs. But her will, which she can no longer alter or deal with, clearly leaves her West End property to the nephew.

The man and his aunt cannot legally be identified.

Prior to her mental and general health deterioration, the man was the main carer for his aunt many years – paying her bills, doing her shopping, house cleaning and cooking her meals.

A Townsville man has been kicked out of his home and charged due to moves from the Public Trustee.

“(My aunt) was a teacher and I had problems learning to read and write and she has helped me and taught me since I was 12, and we have always been close,” he said.

The man suffers from ADHD and other mental health issues but had always been deemed capable of caring for his aunt.

Email sent to the Townsville man.

Before the aunt was placed in a nursing home, some family members felt that the nephew was not fit to be her guardian and the matter went to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).

QCAT is an independent tribunal that resolves disputes on a range of matters including guardianship.

“They were saying I had been starving her, but she was just forgetting that she had already eaten and she just kept asking for more food, and that was sad but it happened,” said the man said.

QCAT put the guardianship of the aunt into the hands of the Public Trustee and they turned the man’s world upside down.

The house.

The Public Trustee declared it would sell the aunt’s house to pay for her ongoing nursing home care.

Then they informed the man by email in April that he had to vacate the house he had called his home.

“There was no consulting with me about this decision and its huge effect on my life, and no consideration that my aunt had declared in her will that the house would eventually be mine,” he said.

Lawyer Lea Bethune, of Stevenson and Mcnamara Lawyers, who has taken on the case pro bono, said she felt the Public Trustee had a duty to look after the man and his future as well as his aunt’s.

“In fact the reverse has occurred and they have literally left (him) out in the cold,” she said.

To rub salt into the deepening wound, on May 31, the man was arrested inside the property by police who initially told him they were going to charge him with break and enter.

“I showed them my front door key and they changed the charge to one of trespass, and I discovered that the Public Trustee had already put a new lock on the back door.”

Ms Bethune said she was looking at the possibility of having the trespass charge withdrawn as The man was clearly entitled to be in his home and be in possession of a door key.

She said on June 5 this year, the man received an email from the Public Trustee advising him that he would have to remove all his belongings from the house by the following day.

In the email, he was advised to ‘meet PTQ officers at the property to collect your personal items’.

“Please provide your instructions by close of business the sixth June, 2023,” the email continued.

“If I do not hear from you I will consider all remaining items in the property to be abandoned goods and the clear out will continue.

“I would also like to remind you to not enter the property without PTQ consent.” The email was signed by a female PTQ employee.

The man said he contacted the PTQ asking for more time as he had not established where he was going to be living.

“This was ignored and they just took all my stuff on June 7 and it went into a skip and that was it,” he said.

The house is now sitting vacant.

On its website, the self-funded Public Trustee is described as ‘a socially and fiscally responsive statutory authority that helps to make decisions that enhance the dignity, rights and interests of Queenslanders’.

“We are responsive and treat our customers with respect whilst making a positive difference to the lives of Queenslanders. Our customers are at the centre of all we do.”

Ms Bethune said the PTQ had no transparency in their dealings at all.

“They have done nothing at all to enhance the rights and interests of (the man) and we are looking at all our options on his behalf,” she said.

The Bulletin contacted the Public Trustee’s office but a spokeswoman said they were unable to comment on specific cases.

“Our aim at the Queensland Public Trustee is to enhance and protect the human rights and dignity of all Queenslanders. We provide an essential service, and play an important role for people who are not in a position to manage their own financial interests,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.

“Queensland Public Trustee is deeply committed to a Customer First Agenda, and provides frequent outcomes focused communications with customers, their guardians and support networks, in line with our responsibilities as financial administrator.

“In relation to your inquiry, due to our obligations under a number of legislative provisions, including under the Public Trustee Act 1978, and the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000, Queensland Public Trustee is not in a position to respond to any questions about particular individual customers.

“Our team will all times (sic) discuss individual customer matters directly with the customers involved, their guardians and support networks – and would encourage any customers to contact their Trust Officer or relevant Regional Managers with questions or concerns.”

Originally published as Public Trustee kicks man out of home after his aunt moves into nursing home