Enduring Guardian Duties and Responsibilities in Tasmania

Appointing an enduring guardian in Tasmania is a significant step. You're handing someone the legal authority to make deeply personal decisions on your behalf — where you live, what medical treatment you receive, who visits you — if you can no longer decide for yourself. But most people focus on the appointment paperwork and skip the harder question: what does the role actually require?

Here's what the law expects from an enduring guardian in Tasmania, and how to choose someone who can meet those expectations.

What decisions can an enduring guardian make?

Under Part 5 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 1995, an enduring guardian makes personal and lifestyle decisions once the appointor has lost decision-making capacity. These fall into two broad categories.

Healthcare decisions include consenting to or refusing medical treatment, choosing between treatment options, and agreeing to admission to a hospital or aged care facility. If you've completed an advance care directive (ACD), your guardian must follow any binding treatment refusals in that document — they can't override your written wishes.

Lifestyle decisions cover where you live (your own home, a family member's home, residential aged care), your daily routine, social activities, and who has access to you. If a family member wants to visit and the guardian says no, the guardian's decision stands unless TASCAT intervenes.

What an enduring guardian cannot do: manage your finances (that requires an enduring power of attorney registered with the Land Titles Office), make or change your will, consent to electroconvulsive therapy or psychosurgery without TASCAT approval, or vote on your behalf.

The legal duties your guardian must meet

Tasmanian law imposes specific obligations on enduring guardians. These aren't suggestions — a guardian who fails them can be reviewed by TASCAT and the appointment may be revoked.

Act in the person's best interests. Every decision must prioritise the welfare and interests of the person who appointed them. This means weighing medical advice, personal values, and the person's known preferences — not what the guardian would want for themselves.

Follow any advance care directive. If you've completed an ACD with binding treatment refusals (such as refusing mechanical ventilation in a terminal condition), your guardian must respect those directions. The ACD takes precedence over the guardian's personal judgment on those specific matters.

Respect cultural and linguistic background. The Act specifically requires guardians to consider the person's cultural environment and language needs. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tasmanians, this includes honouring connections to Country and cultural practices around health and dying.

Consult and communicate. Guardians should involve the person in decisions as much as their capacity allows, consult with family members and healthcare professionals, and keep records of significant decisions and the reasoning behind them.

Avoid conflicts of interest. A guardian shouldn't make decisions that benefit themselves at the person's expense — such as moving the person into a cheaper facility to preserve inheritance, or refusing home modifications that would allow the person to stay independent.

The September 2024 changes that tightened these duties

Legislative amendments that took effect in September 2024 introduced a new requirement: the enduring guardian must sign a declaration confirming they have obtained, read, and understood any advance care directive given by the appointor. This isn't a formality. If a guardian signs the declaration without actually reading the ACD, and later makes a decision that contradicts a binding refusal in that document, their authority can be challenged through TASCAT.

The practical consequence: when you appoint a guardian, sit down with them and walk through your ACD together. Make sure they understand your treatment preferences, your values around end-of-life care, and the specific refusals you've documented.

How to choose the right person

The legal eligibility criteria are straightforward. Your enduring guardian must be at least 18 years old and cannot be someone involved in a professional or administrative capacity in your medical care or daily support — so not your GP, your paid carer, or the manager of your aged care facility.

Beyond eligibility, here's what matters:

Emotional resilience. Your guardian may need to tell a medical team to stop treatment, refuse a family member's demands, or make a residential placement decision that other relatives oppose. The person you choose needs to handle that pressure without buckling.

Availability and proximity. If a medical crisis happens at 2am, the hospital needs to reach your guardian quickly. Someone living interstate or travelling frequently may not be practical. Tasmania's regional geography makes this particularly relevant — if you live in Strahan and your guardian is in Hobart, emergency decisions could be delayed.

Alignment with your values. Choose someone who genuinely understands and respects your preferences, even if they don't personally agree with them. If you've refused CPR in your ACD and your potential guardian is uncomfortable with that decision, they're the wrong choice — no matter how much they love you.

Willingness to serve. Never appoint someone without asking them first. The role carries real legal responsibility, emotional weight, and potential time commitments during medical crises. A reluctant guardian is worse than no guardian at all.

What about appointing more than one guardian?

You can appoint joint or alternative guardians in Tasmania. Joint guardians must agree on decisions (which provides a check on any single person's judgment but can create deadlock). An alternative guardian steps in during the primary guardian's absence or incapacity.

For more on structuring multiple appointments, see our guide to joint and alternative enduring guardians in Tasmania.

What happens if a guardian fails in their duties?

Any person with a genuine interest in the appointor's welfare can apply to TASCAT for a review. The Tribunal can investigate allegations of neglect, financial abuse (where the guardian has overstepped into financial matters), or decision-making failure. TASCAT has the power to revoke the appointment and, in serious cases, appoint the Public Guardian to take over the role.

If you're planning your enduring guardianship documents and want a step-by-step framework for selecting, appointing, and briefing your guardian, the Tasmania Advance Directive & Living Will Kit includes structured selection criteria and the September 2024-compliant declaration forms you'll need.

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