Capacity &
Capability Clinic

The Capacity & Capability Clinic is a multidisciplinary professional practice providing a medico-legal capacity and capability assessment service.

Bringing together legal and clinical expertise, the Capacity and Capability Clinic helps and supports the autonomy of individuals and their families when they need to make important and often complex decisions about financial, legal, health and welfare matters. 

We specialise in exploring options, navigating pathways and evidencing capability to support individuals with questionable or less than autonomous decision-making capabilities to achieve their objectives. Our approach is to provide a safe, constructive and conflict-free environment. 

We can assist you and represent your interests in situations including: guardianship, supported accommodation, powers of attorney, medical consent, financial exploitation, financial management, supported decision making, conflict management, functional and legal impact of cognitive impairment, contractual capacity, succession, conflict and dispute resolution and business and estate administration.

Decision Making Capacity Evaluation Reports

Formal capacity evaluation is often considered if there is reason to question a client or patient’s decision making abilities. Combining deep legal and neuropsychological expertise, we assess a client’s decision making and provide the relevant required medico-legal decision making evaluation and written feedback report.

To help clients understand what they can expect at each stage of the decision making ability evaluation process, we have created our consultation journey guide.

At an appointment there is an opportunity for the client, as well as any accompanying family members or supporters, to discuss your objectives with both Dr Lonie and Mr Perkins.

The initial discussion is focused on understanding:

• the personal context of the person under care / person of concern (who may or may not be the client)
• the presenting problem – what does this mean? The reason for the visit?
• the will and preference of the person under care, and
• how to support, safeguard and advance the will and preference of the person under care or, as necessary, their personal legal representatives and supporters.

Please note: no diagnosis is possible in the first discussion.

Clients are asked to bring to their appointment:

1. Any documents about which they seek or are being asked to make a decision. You can find examples in the Patient Initial Questionnaire.
2. Reading glasses and hearing aids if needed.
3. Someone who can help describe the client’s difficulties if they are experiencing any problem with thinking abilities or memory.