Can you contest a power of attorney in Victoria?

At some time in your life you may be faced with an event – such as an accident or illness – that might take away your capacity to make your own decisions about things like:

Table of Contents Show

Choosing an attorney
Making a power of attorney
Other support
How do you revoke a power of attorney in Victoria?
Do powers of attorney need to be registered in Victoria?
How many power of attorneys can you have Victoria?
Can a power of attorney transfer money to themselves Australia?

where you live
how you spend your money
what support services you may need.

If you don’t have a power of attorney:

you may not be able to choose who should make decisions on your behalf
it could lead to conflict over who should take charge of the decision-making process if you are unable to do this yourself
the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) may be asked to appoint an administrator or guardian to help you.

Choosing an attorney

With a power of attorney, the person giving the power is called the ‘principal’ and the person who is granted the power to act is called the ‘attorney’. You can choose more than one person to be your attorney. You should choose a person that you trust and who you think will make the right decisions for you.

You can also choose someone to make decisions for you about your medical treatment if you are ever unable to make these types of decisions because of an injury or illness. The person with powers to make medical treatment decisions for you is called a ‘medical treatment decision maker’.

Making a power of attorney

A power of attorney gives you choice and control over who makes decisions for you when you are no longer able to do so. This could be because you lose the legal capacity to make decisions, or because you are travelling overseas and need someone to make decisions for you while you are away.

There are three types of powers:

general non-enduring powers of attorney
supportive powers of attorney (for help with decisions)
general enduring powers of attorney (for financial, legal and personal decisions).

Each power is different and suited to different situations.

The non-enduring power and the supportive powers of attorney documents continue until you either revoke (cancel) the power or you lose legal capacity to make particular decisions.

An ‘enduring’ power of attorney means that your power of attorney continues when you are unable to make decisions on your own.

The Office of the Public Advocate External Link has information and resources including downloadable forms to help you make a power of attorney. Go to their page Making an enduring power of attorney External Link.

On their website, you can also find Take Control External Link, a guide to:

appointing a medical treatment decision maker
making an advance care directive
making an enduring power of attorney.

You can also order copies of Take Control from our publications catalogue.

Other support

Find out how you can get other support for Wills, estates and powers of attorney.

How do you revoke a power of attorney in Victoria?

You can revoke (cancel) your power of attorney at any time. You just need to tell your attorney and collect and destroy the original documents. However, you must have capacity to do this, meaning that you are able to make your own decisions. You can also use the revocation form in our Power of Attorney Kit.

Do powers of attorney need to be registered in Victoria?

Do I have to register my Power of Attorney with the Titles Office? No, registration with the Titles Office is not essential. ➲ In order for your Attorney to sell, mortgage, lease more than 3 years, or otherwise deal with your real estate registration with the VIC Titles Office is required.

How many power of attorneys can you have Victoria?

The short form (605 KB) allows you to appoint an attorney and up to two alternative attorneys. You also need to specify what decisions your attorney can make. Use the long form (740 KB) if you wish to appoint more attorneys, or more alternative attorneys.

Can a power of attorney transfer money to themselves Australia?

Are attorneys entitled to make loans or gifts to themselves? Attorneys are not authorised to confer benefits on themselves or on a third party unless they are expressly authorised to do so. This is clearly outlined within Section 12 and Section 13 of the Power of Attorney Act 2003 (NSW).