We cannot recall a case like it. The man, who has moderate dementia, had been placed under the limited guardianship of his wife by the Public Advocate during a hearing in the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) in September 2018 which ordered he enter an aged care facility in Nuriootpa, The Advertiser reports.

The man took the Public Advocate, his wife, who was granted guardianship control of his healthcare, and SACAT to the Supreme Court which heard the facility placed “restrictions on his freedom of movement” by confining him to a ward behind a locked door which could only be opened with a key code or an electronic pass.

The Court found that the man was mentally incapacitated but that SACAT had used guardianship legislation which did not allow the Public Advocate to detain those in their care.

The man will now be released into the care of his son who supported him in the proceedings.