Enduring power of attorney (EPOA)
What is an enduring power of attorney?
An enduring power of attorney (EPOA) is an important legal document that allows you to appoint someone you trust to act as your attorney to make personal, healthcare and/or financial decisions on your behalf if you lose decision-making ability.
To complete an EPOA, you must be over 18 and have decision-making ability.
Without an EPOA:
- family or friends may try to help, but they won’t have a legal record of your wishes
- the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) may need to appoint a formal decision-maker and they may not be your choice.
If there’s no one suitable in your life, you can nominate us to be your attorney for personal and healthcare decisions.
What decisions can an attorney make?
An attorney can be appointed to make:
- personal decisions - including where you live and who you live with, and the supports and services you receive
- healthcare decisions - including consent for most medical treatments, procedures and services to treat any physical or mental conditions you may have
- financial decisions - including paying expenses, making investments, selling property, or carrying on a business
You can specify in your EPOA what decisions your attorney can and cannot make.
An attorney cannot:
- make or change your will
- vote on your behalf
- make decisions about your children or other dependents
- act in ways that are illegal or unethical
- override your views, wishes, preferences unless it is impossible to act on them or doing so would cause harm.
What should you do before you complete an EPOA?
Before you complete an EPOA, it’s important to:
- think carefully about who you want to appoint as your attorney/s
- talk to them about your views, wishes and preferences
- read the EPOA form and EPOA explanatory guide to understand what information is required
- choose someone you trust who understands their legal and financial responsibilities, the importance of following your wishes and who can communicate with external services (e.g. banks)
- ask a professional, like a lawyer, doctor or financial planner if you need help completing the document.
If your attorney will be making financial decisions, make sure you choose someone who is good with managing money. This means they:
- have a good track record of managing money responsibly
- understand how to create a budget and manage debt
- know how to handle financial risks.
For information and tips about what you should think about before making an enduring power for financial decisions, see the Compass You Decide Who Decides guide and videos.
Witnessing and storing documents
Your completed EPOA must be signed and dated in front of an eligible witness. The witness is not just observing your signature, they’re also certifying that at the time, you appeared to have decision-making ability.
Eligible witnesses include:
- Justice of the Peace (JP)
- commissioner for declarations
- notary public
- lawyer.
A witness cannot be:
- the person signing on your behalf
- your attorney (or their relative)
- your paid carer or health provider.
Information for eligible witnesses:
Tips for storing your EPOA
- keep it in a safe place
- give certified copies to your attorney, doctor, lawyer, and others as needed
- there is no central registry for EPOAs. If property is involved, your attorney may need to register it with Titles Queensland
- send a copy to the Statewide Office of Advance Care Planning to be uploaded to your Queensland Health hospital record so authorised clinicians can access it.
Who can be your attorney?
Your attorney is the person who makes decisions for you if you’re unable to. Choose carefully to ensure they:
- understand your values and wishes
- will act in line with your wishes and protect your rights and interests
- know their legal responsibilities
- are confident communicating with external providers
- are willing and available when needed
- are not bankrupt and manage their own finances and personal matters responsibly.
Your attorney must be:
- over 18
- able to make their own decisions.
Your attorney must not be:
- your paid carer (currently or in the past 3 years)
- your health provider
- a staff member of your residential service.
Appointing attorneys:
- you can appoint one or more attorneys
- if you appoint multiple attorneys, decide how they will make decisions (e.g. jointly, individually, or by majority).
Nominating us as your attorney
You can nominate us to be your attorney if there’s no-one else suitable to take on the role. If you nominate us, we’ll read your application and we may contact you for more information.
If we accept your nomination for us to be your attorney, we will:
- sign the EPOA form
- keep a scanned copy for our records
- return the original form to you with a letter to keep.
When can your attorney make decisions?
- personal and healthcare decisions – only when you can no longer make these decisions yourself
- financial decisions – you can choose for these to begin immediately, from a certain date, or only when you can no longer manage your own finances.
How must your attorney make decisions?
Attorneys must follow Queensland’s General Principles and Health Care Principles which include:
- supporting you to make your own decisions where possible
- considering your views, wishes and preferences
- using ‘substituted judgment’ when your wishes aren’t clear (making the decision you would have made).
What if your attorney is not acting properly?
If you believe your attorney isn’t fulfilling their responsibilities, you (or someone on your behalf) can:
- get legal advice
- change banking or financial arrangements to prevent abuse
- apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) to have the attorney removed or your EPOA changed/cancelled
- request that we investigate.
Reviewing or changing your EPOA
You should review your EPOA every two to three years, or after major life events such as marriage, divorce, or changes in your relationship with your attorney.
If you want to make changes you can:
- revoke (cancel) your current EPOA and make a new one
- make a new EPOA, which overrides the earlier versions where inconsistent.
Your attorney also has the right to resign from the role.
Glossary
Use our glossary which provides plain-language explanations of words or terms on our website.