Case 38: Tribunal refuses parents’ application for daughter with an intellectual disability to undergo permanent contraception

Photo by 4FR on iStock

The parents of a 25-year-old woman with an intellectual disability applied to a tribunal for approval for their daughter to undergo permanent contraception. The Tribunal identified that the Charter right to equality and the right to protection from medical treatment without full, free and informed consent were engaged. The Tribunal decided that the proposed treatment was not the least restrictive option and was not in the daughter’s best interests, therefore the decision to go ahead with the procedure could not be justified under the Charter.

Sources: 2015 Report on the Operation of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, p. 13; ZEH (Guardianship) [2015] VCAT 2051