What happens when the state rules you're incapable of looking after yourself?
We can't tell you this man's name or show you his face.
You're not allowed to hear his voice, we can't tell you what his job was or who his family are.
We can't even tell you about any of his hobbies or political beliefs.
If we publish any of this information, the ABC faces fines and for the author of this story, a year in jail.
We'll call this man "Dan".
Dan is in his late 70s and, in 2021, he was diagnosed with suspected dementia.
He is being kept against his will in a nursing home at a cost to him of more than $75,000 a year.
He's been denied access to his own medical and financial information — all in the name of protecting him.
"I can't believe I live in a free country in Australia and I'm treated like I'm living in Russia or somewhere," he says.
"I've got no rights at all and I haven't done anything. I've been in business all my life. I've paid my taxes and done everything."
This is what happens if the state rules you're incapable of looking after yourself, and if you don't have a family member or friend to look after you.
It's happening to thousands of Australians.
Dan is under the control of two West Australian government agencies: the Public Trustee and the Office of the Public Advocate
It's a criminal offence to identify him publicly.
Each state and territory — except the ACT — has similar laws, and there are an estimated 50,000 Australians with brain injuries, dementia, mental illness or intellectual disabilities who are living under such orders.
Public trustees manage more than $13 billion in assets belonging to these people and they withdraw tens of millions in fees from their accounts each year, but it's all done under a veil of secrecy because of the gag laws.
The ABC has heard from hundreds of vulnerable people and their families who say they've been forced into group homes and aged care or charged exorbitant fees while under such orders.
Confusion, anxiety and suspected dementia
We've been following Dan's journey for more than a year now, ever since a West Australian tribunal found he lacked the capacity to make decisions due to dementia.
Dan has been married, several times, and is estranged from his four adult children. He has contact with his young son, who used to stay with him on weekends until Dan was put into a nursing home.
Dan wants to return to his home.
"It's not fair on me, for starters, it's not fair on my son. I'm treated like I'm a criminal. I'm not," he says.
The chain of events leading to the state taking control began when Dan's brother, who had power of attorney over him, moved him into a nursing home.
Dan had been having memory loss for some years but his symptoms became worse after he sold the family home in 2021 and bought a new house to be closer to his young son.
The move was overwhelming, and Dan admitted himself to hospital several times with anxiety and confusion.
He was diagnosed with suspected dementia. Dan says he was told he had time before it would become a problem.
"[The doctor's] diagnosis was that I had the early stages of dementia, but nothing to be concerned about at all. He said to me, 'You'll get a minimum of a good four years from here'," he says.
But Dan's brother became worried when he visited Dan in his new home.
He says he wasn't eating properly or taking his medication and he persuaded Dan to sell his furniture and belongings and move into full-time care.
"He wasn't cooking for himself. In fact, the stove in the house had never been used," his brother says.
Dan initially agreed but, after spending weeks in hospital waiting to make the move, he changed his mind and wanted to return home.
By now, the wheels were in motion, and Dan's brother insisted he move into the aged care facility permanently.
"He wasn't all that keen, I'll be perfectly honest, but he had to go somewhere," Dan's brother says.
Dan complained bitterly about living in the home and, eventually, his brother gave in, writing to the nursing home to say they should let Dan return to his house with a carer. He also gave up his power of attorney. The pair no longer speak.
However, instead of being allowed to return home, shortly after receiving the brother's letter, the owners of the aged care home -- Hall and Prior -- applied to Western Australia's State Administrative Tribunal for Dan to be taken under the control of the state's Public Advocate and Public Trustee.
One hour to decide Dan's fate
These tribunals exist in every state and territory and must assess whether someone has the capacity to make decisions to manage their health and finances or whether they need help.
When Dan had his hearing in February last year, there were no reports from a geriatrician nor a psychiatrist about his dementia, nor was there any formal capacity assessment.
The only medical evidence was from the GP attached to the nursing home that made the application.
We asked the State Administrative Tribunal about this and were told the tribunal does not need evidence from a specialist and GP reports are commonly used as evidence.
It took the tribunal about an hour to find Dan was "unable to make reasonable judgements" and "incapable of looking after his own health and safety".
The tribunal appointed Western Australia's Public Advocate as Dan's guardian, which decided he had to remain at the nursing home.
It appointed the Public Trustee to manage his estate, meaning he lost access to his money and assets.
"It's criminal. It's bloody disgusting," Dan says.
"I'm in an aged care facility with very old people that go to sleep in the mess hall and all this sort of stuff. I don't belong there. I belong in my own home that I've worked hard for all my life ."
'The door's locked'
Dan has now been living in the nursing home against his will for 16 months.
He is not allowed to leave the facility unless he pays for a carer to accompany him or if a friend is willing to sign him out and take responsibility.
"I'm not allowed to go out by myself. I can't go to the movies. I can't go and see my mates. I can't go down to the club and have a beer," he said.
Dan's dementia means he repeats himself often and he sometimes has incorrect recollections about events.
Although he understands he has dementia, doctors say he's in denial about the extent of his condition and its progression.
However, he's still able to dress, shower and go to the toilet by himself and can walk without assistance.
His language skills are good, and he can use a mobile phone, send text messages and email.
Dan doesn't live in the locked dementia unit that is reserved for people who have advanced symptoms. He is with other, more able residents in the general nursing home.
Regardless, he cannot leave the premises after 5pm.
"The door's locked. They automatically lock it at 5 o'clock and they don't open it until 8 o'clock in the morning," he says.
"There's limited space to try and do a bit of a walk, with a bit of exercise and stuff, but they just make it too hard to do so."
Thousands of similar cases across Australia
Queensland University of Technology medical law expert Sam Boyle says people under guardianship and financial administration are supposed to be consulted about where they live and how their money is used.
He says this is not always happening because of a lack of staff.
"Keeping someone against their will should always be the last resort and, if there is any way that he can not be detained against his will, that should be explored and you would hope that the public guardian or the public trustee would facilitate that," he says.
However, Mr Boyle says cases like Dan's are not unusual.
"I would say this is a very common occurrence. This sort of situation would be happening in thousands of instances all around Australia," he says.
Last November, the Disability Royal Commission devoted a week to problems with the public guardian and trustee agencies around the country, including understaffing.
Western Australia's public advocate, Pauline Bagdonavicius, revealed that there is only one guardian for every 71 clients. She agreed it was not sustainable.
The numbers for the Public Trustee Office appear even worse. Last year, an auditor-general report found that, as recently as 2021, the most junior manager had, on average, 198 clients.
Not in Dan's 'best interests'
Dan is fortunate that he has two women helping him in his bid to get out of the nursing home and either move back into his own home with a carer or into an assisted-living facility.
We can't name them because they were at his tribunal hearing and the West Australian gag laws extend to witnesses in proceedings. We'll call them Clare and Theresa.
Clare met Dan when he was in hospital and the pair exchanged phone numbers after he said his brother was taking him to a nursing home against his will.
Theresa is a social worker who has experience with the guardianship and aged care systems.
They are shocked by the level of secrecy around Dan and the lack of information about his medical and financial situation.
"They're just making everything extremely hard and, I believe, that there's probably thousands of people in Dan's situation," Clare says.
They are concerned that he will deteriorate if he is forced to stay in aged care.
"I firmly believe that, if he was allowed to go home with the two carers that I have suggested — or even allowed to go in a low-care facility, not a high care — Dan would come along in leaps and bounds," Theresa says.
At the hearing in February last year, the tribunal ordered that Dan have proper assessments from specialists to determine his cognitive ability and his care needs.
However, when they were completed, the Public Advocate refused to give Dan the reports.
The Public Advocate told the ABC that "medical reports … are not routinely provided" to people in its care and when a third party makes a request, "the best interests of the person and any potential risk to them" will be taken into account.
Even a legal aid lawyer who was helping Dan was only allowed to have the reports on the condition that she destroy the documents after reading them.
Dan was eventually given a summary of those reports. One, from an occupational therapist, found he needed no assistance with mobility, dressing, grooming and toileting but that he couldn't organise home maintenance, meal preparation and medication.
The other assessment, by a neuropsychologist, showed that overall, Dan is in the "average" range, but that he was in the "very low" or "extremely low" range for organisation and planning, and had difficulty making informed decisions for medical treatment and accommodation.
Both experts agreed that Dan could return to his home with 24/7 care.
However, the Public Advocate rejected that option, saying it was not in Dan's "best interests".
The Public Trustee, which manages Dan's finances, said Dan can't afford 24/7 care at home but that he holds "sufficient funds to remain living in an aged care facility".
Nursing home charging premium fees
Clare recently managed to obtain an invoice from the nursing home that shows Dan is paying a premium price at his high-care facility.
It shows his fees total about $75,000 a year for accommodation and care services.
"That's unbelievable. I'm gobsmacked. How can they do that? " Dan says.
Meanwhile, the Public Trustee hasn't rented out Dan's four bedroom house, even though that would help offset some of his high costs.
And the electricity and water at his house are still connected, meaning he would still be paying bills, even though nobody is living there.
The Public Trustee wouldn't answer questions about why Dan's house wasn't rented out because of confidentiality reasons but said "it reviews clients' circumstances to determine whether to rent out a property", and that it keeps utilities connected for various reasons, such as repairs and inspections.
Although Dan doesn't have any statements from the Public Trustee, the ABC understands the agency would be taking $3,130 from his account every year to manage his empty property.
Dan says the Public Trustee has ignored all his requests for information.
He says he's sent dozens of emails, made phone calls and even sent a request by registered post over the past year but has never received a response.
"I've given up, they just don't return calls," Dan says.
"I leave messages all the time."
Agency funded by vulnerable clients
The Western Australia Public Trustee is in the firing line at the moment, after a scathing report last year by the state's auditor-general, which noted a lack of accountability, exorbitant fees and that it charges higher fees to people with assets — such as Dan — in order to fund its operation.
"The Public Trustee is one of the least-scrutinised state entities in the state," Auditor-General Caroline Spencer says.
"Where they have control of people's finances, that's a really significant intrusion of the state into an individual's life and, so, they need to be accountable."
Western Australia's Public Trustee Office receives no government funding. It funds its operation by charging its vulnerable clients fees and taking a percentage of any of their earnings, often without their knowledge.
Last year, it took $23 million in fees from people's accounts. It does not provide statements to them or their families.
The auditor-general found that people with assets were being overcharged for administrative work in order to help fund the operation of the Public Trustee Office.
"It has to cover all of its operating costs from fees raised from its clients, but what we found is that the Public Trustee is sometimes raising fees that appeared too high for the level of work effort that was being done and some of those clients are unknowingly subsidising other clients who don't have the capacity to pay," Ms Spencer said.
She has recommended that the West Australian government reviews the fees and charges and that it partially funds the Public Trustee.
A government spokesperson said that "a review is underway and will be a matter for cabinet to consider".
Calls for gag laws to be lifted
In Queensland, there are calls to get rid of the gag laws and, in Tasmania, the government is reviewing the laws to allow people under guardianship and administration to be identified.
West Australian Greens senator Jordon Steele-John wants law reform across the country, saying it will provide much-needed scrutiny of public guardians and trustees.
"I think it does suit government, that people under both public trustee and the public guardian, are currently unable to speak out and that journalists are prevented from reporting on these situations because, in the absence of the voice of the affected person, then there is very little chance that there will be pressure on them to engage in changing the system," Senator Steele-John says.
The ABC requested interviewees with the West Australian Public Trustee, the Public Advocate, and the State Administrative Tribunal.
It also requested an interview with the minister responsible, West Australian Attorney-General John Quigley, who did not want to participate.
None could respond to Dan's case because of confidentiality issues.
Regarding the issue of whether people are consulted about decisions on issues like accommodation, the Public Advocate said its "guardians must, as far as possible, make decisions in consultation with the represented person and take into account their wishes" but "Western Australia's legislative framework is based on substitute decision-making".
The Public Trustee — which manages Dan's finances — said it doesn't provide statements to clients unless it's requested, but it is reviewing this policy.
It also said it's not responsible for finding affordable accommodation for those under its care, but it "can review the affordability of any accommodation chosen" by the person under management, their family or their support people.
The State Administrative Tribunal has also refused to give Dan copies of the documents presented at his hearing last year.
A spokesperson for the tribunal told the ABC it allows people under guardianship and administration to inspect evidence, but won't give them copies "because of the highly sensitive information contained in documents".
Dan has a review with the tribunal next month.
He has a lawyer helping him, but he still isn't allowed to have copies of any of his documents.
His lawyer has been told that he has to destroy all documentation once the case is complete.
In the meantime, Dan worries that his dementia is getting worse because of his situation.
"It's been exacerbated because of the pressure," he says.
"I've just been put in this prison. I've lost my bloody life."
Credits
Reporter: Anne Connolly
Design: Emma Machan
Photography: Kenith Png, Mark Leonardi, Cason Ho
Digital Producer: Brigid Andersen
