A mother lives in Brisbane, one son is in Sydney, a daughter is in Melbourne and another child works in Singapore. Mum signed “a power of attorney” years ago, but no one is sure what it covers, whether it works in another state, or who can speak to her doctors if she becomes unwell.
Australia has no single national system for these documents. Each state and territory has its own laws, forms and often names.
This guide explains what each state calls its documents, how interstate recognition works and what families living apart can do (as at October 2026).
Three kinds of decisions, three kinds of documents
Most families need to cover three areas:
- Financial and legal decisions: usually an enduring power of attorney, which continues after the person loses capacity.
- Personal, lifestyle and health decisions: in some states this is part of the enduring power of attorney; in others it is a separate appointment of an enduring guardian or decision-maker.
- The person’s own instructions about future medical treatment: an advance care directive or its local equivalent.
What each state calls its documents
New South Wales
An enduring power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act 2003 (NSW) covers financial and legal matters. Health and lifestyle decisions are made by an enduring guardian appointed under the Guardianship Act 1987 (NSW). NSW has no legislation for advance care directives; a written advance care directive operates under the common law, and NSW Health publishes a guidance form. If the attorney will deal with land, the power of attorney must be registered with NSW Land Registry Services.
Victoria
An enduring power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic) can cover financial matters, personal matters or both. Victoria also has a supportive attorney appointment, which helps a person make their own decisions. Medical decisions are covered by the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 (Vic): a person can appoint a medical treatment decision maker and make an advance care directive containing instructional and/or values directives.
Queensland
An enduring power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act 1998 (Qld) can cover financial matters and personal matters, including health care. The same Act provides for an advance health directive, which is Queensland’s only statutory form of advance care directive.
Western Australia
Under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990 (WA), there are three separate documents: an enduring power of attorney for financial and property matters, an enduring power of guardianship for personal, lifestyle and treatment decisions, and an advance health directive for the person’s own treatment decisions.
South Australia
An enduring power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney and Agency Act 1984 (SA) covers financial matters only. Health, accommodation and personal decisions are dealt with by an advance care directive under the Advance Care Directives Act 2013 (SA), which can also appoint one or more substitute decision-makers. Enduring guardianships, medical powers of attorney and anticipatory directions made before 1 July 2014 are treated as advance care directives.
Tasmania
A Tasmanian enduring power of attorney covers financial and legal matters and can only be used once it is registered with the Land Titles Office. Personal and lifestyle decisions are made by an enduring guardian, whose appointment must be registered with the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Tasmania also now has a statutory advance care directive under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1995 (Tas).
Australian Capital Territory
An ACT enduring power of attorney can cover property and financial matters, personal care, health care and medical research. A health direction under the Medical Treatment (Health Directions) Act 2006 (ACT) records a decision to refuse or withdraw medical treatment, but it cannot appoint a decision-maker.
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory uses a single document, the advance personal plan, under the Advance Personal Planning Act 2013 (NT). It can appoint decision-makers (for example, one for financial matters and another for everything else), record advance consent decisions about health care, and set out the person’s views and wishes. It replaced the enduring power of attorney in the Territory.
Is a document made in one state recognised in another?
In general terms, most states and territories have provisions recognising enduring powers of attorney made elsewhere in Australia, usually only to the extent that the powers given could also have been validly given under local law. NSW, for example, recognises interstate enduring powers, and its law was clarified in 2025 to cover similar instruments however they are named. Queensland likewise treats an enduring power made under another state’s law as if it had been made under the Queensland Act.
There are important qualifications:
- Western Australia generally requires an application to the State Administrative Tribunal for a document made elsewhere to be recognised.
- Tasmania requires registration before an enduring power of attorney can be used, and advises taking legal advice before relying on an interstate document there.
- Recognition of advance care directives and guardianship appointments varies more. South Australia, for example, recognises equivalent interstate directives, but other places have different rules.
- Even where the law recognises a document, banks, registries and hospitals may still ask for extra evidence or a local form.
If a parent moves permanently to another state and still has capacity, consider making new documents there.
Using documents overseas, and foreign documents in Australia
An Australian power of attorney is not automatically accepted in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, mainland China or Taiwan. It usually needs to be notarised and authenticated, and sometimes a local document is needed instead. Foreign powers of attorney can also face difficulties in Australia, especially for land. Separate articles cover both situations.
Practical advice for families living in different states or countries
- Make the documents where the parent lives. Use the forms of the state where the parent lives and where most decisions will be made.
- Cover all three areas: money, personal and health decisions, and the parent’s own treatment wishes.
- Think about where the attorneys live. An attorney overseas may struggle to sign documents, attend a bank or visit a hospital at short notice. Appointing a local attorney alongside an overseas child, and stating clearly whether they may act separately or must act together, can avoid delays.
- Register where required. In NSW, register before dealing with land. In Tasmania, register before the power can be used.
- Keep certified copies accessible for attorneys, the GP and any aged care provider.
- Act while capacity is clear. Once capacity is lost, it is too late, and the family may need to apply to a tribunal.
- Talk as a family about who has been appointed and why.
Frequently asked questions
Is a NSW enduring power of attorney valid in Queensland?
Generally yes. Queensland’s Powers of Attorney Act 1998 recognises enduring powers made under the law of another state, treating them as if made under the Queensland Act, subject to the limits in that Act. If the parent has moved to Queensland permanently, a new Queensland document is often simpler.
Is an advance care directive legally binding in NSW?
NSW has no legislation for advance care directives, but a valid directive made by a person with capacity can be binding under the common law. It should be clear, specific and made voluntarily.
What is the difference between an enduring power of attorney and an enduring guardian?
In states such as NSW, WA and Tasmania, an enduring power of attorney covers financial and legal matters, while an enduring guardian covers personal, lifestyle and health decisions. In Victoria, Queensland and the ACT, an enduring power of attorney can cover personal matters as well.
Do I need a new power of attorney if my parent moves interstate?
Not always, because most states recognise interstate enduring powers to some extent. But WA requires a tribunal application and health documents vary more, so a review is wise.
How Chua Tan Associates can help
Chua Tan Associates assists families across Australia and overseas to put enduring powers of attorney and related documents in place, and to check whether existing documents will work where a parent now lives. We work with local lawyers in other states and overseas, and our notary public can notarise documents that need to be used abroad. Where siblings disagree about a parent’s care or finances, Justin Chua, a Nationally Accredited Mediator and Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner, can help the family talk through the issues. We advise in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Related reading
Chua Tan Associates acts for families, executors, trustees and their professional advisers in estate planning, estate administration and estate disputes in Australia and across borders. To arrange a confidential consultation, please contact our Melbourne office on +61 3 9602 3988 or submit an enquiry. Advice is available in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Justin Chua (蔡智勋), lawyer and mediator, Chua Tan Associates, Melbourne. General information only, not legal or tax advice.
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