Understanding powers of attorney

The Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic) (‘POA Act’) created a new enduring power of attorney that replaced:

• the financial enduring power of attorney (made under the Instruments Act 1958 (Vic)); and
• the enduring power of guardianship (made under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1986 (Vic)).

Also, the general (non-enduring) power of attorney is no longer in the Instruments Act 1958 (Vic) but is now in the POA Act.

The POA Act ensures that enduring powers of attorney (financial) and enduring powers of guardianship made under previous laws remain valid.

The POA Act created a new, non-enduring power of attorney called a ‘supportive attorney’.

The Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 (Vic) (‘MTPD Act’), which commenced on 12 March 2018, affects the powers of personal attorneys.

To appoint a person to make decisions about medical treatment and medical research procedures when a person has lost their decision-making capacity, it is necessary to appoint a ‘medical treatment decision-maker’.

The MTPD Act allows the appointment of a support person (see ‘Support people’ in ‘Medical treatment‘ Chapter 8.7: Guardianship and medical treatment.