All Australian Governments are committed to promoting the dignity, security and autonomy of older Australians. This includes preventing abuse in all its forms – physical, financial, psychological, sexual, and neglect – and taking positive steps to promote the rights of older persons.

A current national consultation focuses on addressing financial elder abuse and achieving greater consistency in laws for financial enduring powers of attorney.

Enduring Powers of Attorney are legal documents made under state and territory law. They allow a person (the principal) to appoint another adult person or persons (the attorney) to make certain decisions on their behalf. Enduring Powers of Attorney, unlike general powers of attorney, remain in force should the principal lose decision-making capacity in the future.

While Enduring Powers of Attorney are intended to protect and assist principals, they can instead contribute to financial abuse when they are misused or misapplied by an attorney, whether deliberately or inadvertently.

The Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department is keen to hear from a wide range of people and groups who have experience with financial Enduring Powers of Attorney, or in responding to financial elder abuse. This includes people who may have experienced abuse through a financial Enduring Powers of Attorney.

Sharing experiences will assist to develop this work further, and to provide advice to Australia’s Attorneys-General on the most important next steps and policy considerations in Enduring Powers of Attorney law reform.

You can provide input until 29 November 2023, through a Consultation Paper outlining potential reform proposals across a range of key areas in financial Enduring Powers of Attorney laws.

Access the Consultation Paper and information on making a submission