Common Power of Attorney Mistakes Victoria: 9 Errors That Invalidate Your EPA
Why Victorian EPAs Fail More Often Than You'd Expect
Victoria's enduring power of attorney (EPA) requirements under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 are among the strictest in Australia. The witnessing rules are more demanding, the form requirements more prescriptive, and the consequences of getting it wrong more severe than in most other states.
A single procedural error doesn't just create a technicality — it can render the entire document legally void. When you actually need the EPA to work (your parent is in hospital, the bank account is frozen, a property sale is mid-settlement), discovering it's invalid means starting the VCAT guardianship process. That takes months, costs thousands in legal fees and State Trustees commissions, and strips the family of control.
Here are the nine mistakes that cause the most real-world failures.
1. Using the Wrong Witness
Victoria requires two adult witnesses for an EPA. One of them must be a person authorised to witness affidavits in Victoria — typically a lawyer, Justice of the Peace, or registered medical practitioner.
But the rules also disqualify certain people from witnessing, regardless of their professional status:
- The appointed attorney or any alternative attorney
- A relative of the principal
- A relative of any appointed attorney
- A care worker, health provider, or accommodation provider for the principal
A GP who is also the principal's treating doctor at their aged care facility? Technically eligible as a medical practitioner but potentially disqualified as a care provider. A daughter-in-law who happens to be a solicitor? Disqualified as a relative of the attorney (if the attorney is her spouse). These edge cases trip up families regularly.
2. Missing the Statement of Acceptance
The attorney must sign a formal Statement of Acceptance in the presence of an adult witness before the EPA becomes active for them. This is a separate step from the principal signing the document.
Many DIY preparers complete the principal's execution perfectly, then forget or skip the acceptance. The result: the EPA exists as a signed document, but the attorney has no legal authority to act under it. Banks will spot this immediately.
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3. Using an Interstate or Outdated Form
Generic "Australian Power of Attorney Kits" sold online often use a one-size-fits-all template that doesn't comply with Victoria's specific prescribed forms. The Powers of Attorney Regulations 2025 updated all seven prescribed forms used in Victoria — if you're working from a pre-August 2025 template, it may not include the current statutory wording.
Victoria also strictly separates financial/personal powers from medical decisions. An interstate form that combines medical and financial authority into one document will be rejected by Victorian hospitals, banks, and registries.
4. Confusing Financial, Personal, and Medical Powers
Under Victoria's dual-statute framework:
- Financial and personal matters are covered by an EPA under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014
- Medical treatment decisions are covered by a separate Medical Treatment Decision Maker (MTDM) appointment under the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016
Naming someone as your EPA attorney does not give them authority to consent to or refuse medical treatment. Many families discover this when a hospital asks for consent to a procedure and the attorney presents the EPA, only to be told it doesn't cover healthcare decisions.
5. Appointing Attorneys "Jointly" Without Understanding the Consequences
Joint appointments require unanimous agreement on every decision. If one attorney is unavailable — overseas, unwell, or simply unreachable — the other can't act alone. If one attorney dies or resigns without an alternative attorney named, the entire EPA fails.
Worse, some banks (particularly digital-only banks like Ubank) explicitly reject joint-only appointments for online transaction accounts because their platforms can't support dual-authorisation workflows.
6. Not Registering the EPA Before a Property Sale
Victoria doesn't require you to register an EPA with Land Use Victoria (LUV) upon signing — so most people don't. But if the attorney later needs to sell the principal's property (commonly to fund an aged care accommodation deposit), the EPA must be registered with LUV before the transaction can proceed through PEXA.
Families who discover this mid-settlement face delays, additional fees (approximately $204 per donor), and a mandatory Verification of Identity under ARNECC rules. If the settlement deadline passes, the sale can collapse.
7. Failing to Provide Certified Copies to Institutions
Victoria has no central registry for EPAs. The principal is responsible for storing the original securely and distributing certified copies to every institution that needs to recognise the attorney's authority — banks, superannuation funds, Land Use Victoria, aged care providers, Centrelink.
Families who store the original in a safe and never distribute copies find that when they actually need to use the EPA, every institution requires time to verify the document before granting access. During a crisis, that verification delay can mean days without access to funds.
8. Ignoring Conflict Transaction Rules
Section 100 of the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 prohibits an attorney from entering into any transaction where their personal interests conflict with the principal's. Common examples:
- Transferring the principal's property to the attorney or the attorney's family
- Allowing a relative to live rent-free in the principal's home
- Using the principal's funds for the attorney's personal expenses
A conflict transaction is legally invalid unless the principal specifically authorised it in the EPA document, or VCAT issues a retrospective validation order. An attorney who proceeds without authorisation faces personal liability and potential VCAT intervention.
9. Not Planning for the Attorney's Own Incapacity
What happens if the principal loses capacity, and then the sole appointed attorney also becomes incapacitated? Without an alternative attorney named in the EPA, there's nobody with legal authority to act. The family is back to VCAT.
Always name at least one alternative attorney. If you're appointing multiple attorneys jointly, name alternatives for each position. The alternative steps in automatically if the primary attorney dies, loses capacity, or resigns.
Avoiding These Mistakes
Every one of these errors is preventable at the drafting and execution stage. Our Victoria Power of Attorney Kit walks through each step of the process — witness eligibility, acceptance procedures, institutional notification, and conflict transaction safeguards — using the current prescribed forms under the 2025 Regulations.
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