Why this matters more than your will
A will operates after you die. An enduring power of attorney operates while you are alive but unable to make decisions — which means you, and your family, live with the consequences of getting it wrong.
Capacity can be lost suddenly through accident or stroke, or gradually through dementia. In either case, the document must already exist. You cannot make an enduring power of attorney once you have lost the capacity to understand it, and that is the point at which most families discover they needed one.
The two kinds of decision
Queensland is unusual: a single enduring power of attorney can cover both financial matters and personal and health matters. Most other states require two separate documents.
| Financial matters | Personal & health matters | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | Banking, property, bills, tax, investments, running a business | Where you live, healthcare, medical treatment, daily care |
| When it can start | Immediately, on a stated date, or on loss of capacity | Only when you lose capacity |
| Common choice | Spouse, adult child, trusted friend | Often the same person, but need not be |
When the power starts
You choose when the financial power begins. It can start immediately — useful if you travel, are unwell, or simply want help with paperwork — or only if and when you lose capacity. Personal and health power can only ever begin on loss of capacity, regardless of what you specify.
Starting the financial power immediately does not remove your own authority. You continue to make your own decisions; the attorney can act alongside you. The trade-off is that an immediate power can be used the moment it is signed, which is why who you appoint matters so much.
Choosing an attorney
This is the decision, and it deserves more thought than the form suggests. Your attorney will have access to your money and, in time, to decisions about your care.
- Someone you trust completely with money
- Financially competent, not merely well-meaning
- Likely to be available and living nearby
- Able to stand up to other family members
- Willing — ask them first
- Name a substitute in case they cannot act
You can appoint more than one attorney and specify how they act: jointly, meaning all must agree; severally, meaning any can act alone; or by majority. Appointing joint attorneys who disagree creates deadlock at exactly the wrong moment. Appointing several attorneys severally means any one of them can act without telling the others.
Financial elder abuse usually involves an attorney
An enduring power of attorney is a powerful document and it is the instrument most often misused against older Queenslanders — typically by a family member, and typically framed as an early inheritance.
An attorney must act honestly and with reasonable diligence, avoid conflict transactions, and keep their own money separate from yours. If you are concerned about how an attorney is acting, QCAT can review the appointment and require accounts. Raise it early.
Advance health directives
An advance health directive records your own instructions about future medical treatment, rather than leaving decisions to someone else's judgement. It can address life-sustaining measures, resuscitation and treatment you would refuse.
Under section 44(6) of the Powers of Attorney Act, it must include a certificate signed by a doctor or nurse practitioner stating you appeared to have the capacity to make it. That practitioner cannot be the witness, your attorney, or a beneficiary of your will. The practical effect is that an advance health directive takes a medical appointment as well as a legal one, so allow time.
What happens if you don't have one
Health decisions have a default. Financial decisions do not.
For health, Queensland law appoints a statutory health attorney automatically — generally your spouse, or if none, an unpaid carer, or a close friend or relative. If nobody suitable is available, the Public Guardian acts.
For financial decisions there is no default at all. Someone must apply to QCAT to be appointed as your administrator. That is a public tribunal process, it takes time you may not have, and the tribunal — not you — decides who is appointed. It may appoint the Public Trustee.
Every practical problem follows from that gap: bills cannot be paid, a property cannot be sold to fund care, a business cannot be run, and a bank will not talk to your family.
What it costs
- Fixed fee for an enduring power of attorney
- Reduced when prepared with your will
- Package pricing for couples
- Advance health directive quoted separately
- We witness the document for you
- Free safe custody with your will
Frequently asked questions
A general power of attorney ends if you lose capacity, which makes it useful for temporary situations such as travel but useless for planning. An enduring power of attorney continues to operate after you lose capacity, which is the entire point of making one.
One eligible witness, under section 44 of the Powers of Attorney Act 1998 (Qld). The witness must certify that you appeared to have the capacity necessary to make the document. Your attorney's signature does not need to be witnessed.
You choose for financial matters: immediately, on a stated date, or on loss of capacity. Power for personal and health matters can only begin when you lose capacity, regardless of what the document says. Starting the financial power immediately does not remove your own authority to make decisions.
For health decisions, Queensland law appoints a statutory health attorney by default, generally your spouse, or an unpaid carer, or a close friend or relative. For financial decisions there is no default: someone must apply to QCAT to be appointed as your administrator, and the tribunal decides who that is. It may appoint the Public Trustee.
No. An attorney must act honestly and with reasonable diligence, avoid conflict transactions, and keep their money separate from yours. Misuse of an enduring power of attorney is the most common form of financial elder abuse. QCAT can review an appointment, require accounts, and remove an attorney.
Not necessarily, but it does something an enduring power of attorney does not: it records your own instructions about specific treatment rather than delegating the decision. It requires a certificate from a doctor or nurse practitioner confirming your capacity, so allow time for a medical appointment as well as a legal one.
More information
Having someone to make decisions for you is important in times when you are unable to either sign documents or make decisions for yourself.
Rockhampton powers of attorney lawyers
While your Will operates on your death, an Enduring Power of Attorney is important to protect for financial and personal/health interests during your lifetime in the event that you are unable or incapable of making those decisions for yourself.
A General Power of Attorney is useful if you want someone to act on your behalf for a particular purpose, such as signing documents while you are overseas. However, a General Power of Attorney cannot be used once you lose mental capacity to make decisions.
You need an Enduring Power of Attorney if you wish someone else to make decisions for you and to include a time when you become incapable of making decisions in relation to both financial and personal/health matters. It is most important that your choice of attorney is someone in whom you have the utmost trust.
You can revoke (withdraw) the appointment of any attorney if you change your mind but only if you retain the mental capacity to do so.
The role of an attorney is a position of trust and it is most important that an attorney understands their responsibilities and duties, including any obligations to avoid conflict transactions and recordkeeping. Our Rockhampton Will and Estate Lawyers can assist attorneys to understand their obligations.
We can also assist you with:
- Wills
- Testamentary Trusts
- Discretionary and Unit Trusts
- Business and Estate Planning
- Guardianship Matters
- Advance Health Directives
- Superannuation
- Deceased Estate Administration (including where there is no Will called Intestacy)
- Applications for Probate or Grants of Administration
- Other Court Applications
- Advising Executors on their Duties
- Advising Beneficiaries on their Rights
- Estate Litigation and Disputes ( including Family Provision Applications)
- Mediations
Extensive Experience
Our professional team has extensive experience in a wide range of legal areas. Our approach is one of planning and involvement. We will continue to be there to support you with accurate and timely advice.
This page is general information about the law as it applies in Queensland, current as at 2026. It is not legal advice and does not take your circumstances into account. Figures set by regulation are indexed and change. Speak to one of our lawyers before acting.