Interstate Power of Attorney in the ACT: Will Your NSW Document Work in Canberra?

Canberra sits in the middle of New South Wales, and families move across the border constantly. A parent in Queanbeyan, Yass, or Goulburn transitions into a Canberra aged-care facility, and suddenly the NSW enduring guardianship and power of attorney documents that worked perfectly in NSW need to function under ACT law. Whether they actually will depends on what kind of document you hold and what you're trying to do with it.

Section 89: The Interstate Recognition Rule

Section 89 of the Powers of Attorney Act 2006 (ACT) provides for the recognition of interstate powers of attorney. An enduring power of attorney made in another Australian state or territory is generally recognised in the ACT if it was validly made under the law of the state or territory where it was executed.

This means an NSW EPA that was properly signed and witnessed under NSW law should be accepted in the ACT for most purposes. The same applies to documents from Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and other jurisdictions.

But "generally recognised" isn't the same as "automatically accepted without friction." Several practical obstacles can trip up interstate families.

The Real Estate Registration Problem

If you need to manage real property in the ACT — selling a parent's Canberra investment property, transferring title, or dealing with a mortgage — the EPA must be registered as a deed with Access Canberra's Land Titles office in Dickson. This is where interstate documents hit their hardest wall.

An NSW enduring power of attorney uses a different form, different witnessing rules, and different terminology than the ACT's Approved Form AF2017-45. Access Canberra staff may not be familiar with the NSW form's structure, and the registration process can stall while the registry assesses whether the document meets their requirements.

If your interstate EPA gets a requisition (due to perceived defects or unfamiliar formatting), you'll face a $128 or $256 penalty fee and a reset of the 10-business-day processing timeline. For time-sensitive property transactions, this delay can be critical.

The safest approach for families with ACT real estate is to execute a separate ACT-specific EPA for property matters while the principal still has capacity, even if a valid interstate document already exists.

Healthcare: Different Systems, Different Documents

The ACT's substitute decision-making framework is structured differently from every other state. NSW separates enduring guardianship (personal and health decisions) from enduring power of attorney (financial decisions). The ACT combines all four categories — property, personal care, health care, and medical research — into a single EPA form.

An NSW Enduring Guardianship appointment is recognised under Section 89 for healthcare decisions in the ACT. But Canberra hospitals and aged-care facilities may be unfamiliar with the NSW form. They know what an ACT EPA looks like, and an unfamiliar document can create hesitation at the exact moment you need fast action — when a parent is in emergency care and you need to consent to treatment.

There's another complication. The ACT has a specific Health Direction document (under the Medical Treatment (Health Directions) Act 2006) that allows a person to refuse or withdraw medical treatment. NSW has no direct equivalent — NSW uses Advance Care Directives. An ACT hospital presented with an NSW Advance Care Directive may not know how to apply it under ACT law, and the legal interaction between the two frameworks isn't tested by clear case law.

The Queanbeyan-Canberra Corridor

The Queanbeyan-to-Canberra move is the most common interstate transition in the ACT. Families in this situation typically need to:

1. Check what documents exist. Does the parent have an NSW Enduring Power of Attorney (financial), an NSW Enduring Guardianship (personal/health), or both? Some families have one but not the other.

2. Assess whether the documents are still valid. NSW powers of attorney can be revoked or may have been superseded by a later document. Check that the principal hasn't executed a newer instrument that revokes the earlier one.

3. Present the documents to ACT institutions. Give certified copies to each Canberra bank, the aged-care facility, and the treating GP. Ask each institution to confirm in writing that they'll accept the interstate document. Do this before a crisis, not during one.

4. Consider executing ACT-specific documents. If the principal still has capacity, a new ACT EPA using the approved form eliminates all interstate friction. The ACT EPA can coexist with the NSW documents — under section 69, a later power of attorney revokes an earlier one only to the extent of any inconsistency.

Documents From Outside Australia

Section 89 applies to interstate Australian documents. A power of attorney made in New Zealand, the UK, the US, or any other country is not covered by this provision. Foreign powers of attorney may still be accepted by ACT institutions on a case-by-case basis, but there's no statutory obligation to recognise them.

For families with parents moving from overseas to Canberra, executing a fresh ACT EPA is essential.

Getting Ahead of the Problem

The worst time to discover that your interstate documents don't work in Canberra is in an aged-care admissions meeting or a hospital emergency room. If your parent is transitioning across the border, present their documents to every relevant ACT institution in advance and get written confirmation of acceptance.

Our Australian Capital Territory Power of Attorney Kit covers the interstate recognition rules under Section 89, the ACT registration process for interstate documents, and templates for executing ACT-specific instruments alongside existing state documents.

Get the ACT Power of Attorney Kit so your family's documents work on both sides of the border.

See more Australian Capital Territory guides →