This post deals with two forthcoming changes: a proposed national register of enduring power of attorney instruments and changes to the Queensland Powers of Attorney Act which will improve consistency with other jurisdictions.

National register of enduring power of attorney instruments

On 29 November 2019, the Council of Attorneys-General (CAG) agreed to pursue a staged approach to enduring power of attorney reform for financial decisions, first focusing on law reforms to support the establishment of a mandatory national register of enduring power of attorney instruments, followed by further consideration of reforms to enhance safeguarding provisions and enhance access to justice arrangements.

Ministers agreed to consider a detailed proposal and implementation plan for a Commonwealth-established and maintained register at the next CAG meeting. A regulatory impact statement will be prepared to accompany the detailed proposal and implementation plan.

The next CAG meeting will be held in the first half of 2020. The date of the meeting will be confirmed in early 2020.

Queensland Guardianship and Administration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2019
The Queensland Guardianship and Administration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2019 is scheduled to commence on 30 March 2020. The Act amends the Queensland Powers of Attorney Act 1998.

The commencement will coincide with the start of redesigned Enduring Power of Attorney and Advance Health Directive forms together with explanatory guides for those forms and new capacity guidelines.

Amongst other things the amendments:

• clarify that an enduring power of attorney(EPA) may be made by an adult principal outside Queensland. This clarifies that where the person lives interstate or overseas and makes an EPA under Queensland legislation, the instrument will be effective in Queensland.
• expand the recognition in Queensland of an EPA made in another state (in accordance with the requirements in that state) to recognise an EPA made in another jurisdiction (that will include New Zealand).
• simplify the requirements for certifying that a copy of an EPA is a true and complete copy of the original. Rather than certifying each page of the enduring document, the amended Act requires only that the copy is certified to the effect that it is a true and complete copy of the original.
• clarify that an attorney for a financial matter may enter into a conflict transaction only if the principal, or the Supreme Court, has prospectively authorised the transaction.

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