How to File All Three End-of-Life Documents in Tasmania: ACD, Enduring Guardian, and EPOA

If you're completing advance care planning in Tasmania and only prepare one document, you may leave important parts of the system uncovered. Unlike most Australian states, Tasmania separates healthcare wishes, personal and lifestyle decisions, and financial and property affairs across three legal instruments — with different registry processes and procedural requirements. Missing any one of them creates a gap that becomes visible only during a crisis, when it's too late to fix.

Here's the exact process for completing and filing all three, in the order that makes the most practical sense.

Why Tasmania Uses Three Separate Documents

Most people assume that an advance directive covers everything — medical decisions, financial affairs, and the appointment of a substitute decision-maker. In Tasmania, these three functions are split across three distinct legal instruments:

An ACD records your wishes; an Enduring Guardian has the statutory role of making personal and lifestyle decisions, including healthcare decisions within that role, if you lose capacity. An ACD and EG without an EPOA leaves financial and property matters without an appointed attorney, so the family must apply to TASCAT for an Administration Order to manage them.

For complete coverage of all three areas, all three documents are needed.

The Filing Process, Step by Step

Document 1: Advance Care Directive (ACD)

Registry: TASCAT (Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal) Fee: Free Submission method: Post or online portal

The ACD is the simplest to file. Once you've completed and witnessed the statutory form — after mapping your treatment preferences to the GOC Plan clinical phases used by the Tasmanian Health Service — you submit it to TASCAT for voluntary registration.

Registration is technically optional, but strongly recommended. A registered ACD is accessible to healthcare practitioners when you're unable to present it yourself. An unregistered directive sitting in a filing cabinet at home is legally valid but practically invisible during an emergency.

What to include in your submission:

• The completed, signed, and witnessed ACD form
• A copy for your own records (TASCAT does not return the original for some submission methods)
• Your contact details for confirmation of registration

Processing time: Confirm the current processing time with TASCAT.

Additional distribution: Upload your ACD to your My Health Record and provide physical copies to your GP, your Enduring Guardian, and any family members who may be present during a medical crisis.

Document 2: Enduring Guardian (EG)

Registry: Service Tasmania (physical lodgement) → forwarded to TASCAT Fee: $88.20 registration (FY 2026–2027) Submission method: In-person at a Service Tasmania outlet

The Enduring Guardian instrument appoints the person who will make personal, lifestyle, and healthcare decisions on your behalf if you lose capacity. It works alongside the ACD, rather than replacing the ACD's treatment directions, so filing one without the other can leave an important part of the plan uncovered.

Since September 2024, the statutory requirements for Enduring Guardian instruments include a mandatory acknowledgement declaration. Your appointed guardian must sign a document confirming they have received, read, and understood your ACD. If you're completing a new EG instrument, make sure this declaration is included. If you have an existing pre-September 2024 instrument, it may need updating.

What to bring to Service Tasmania:

• The completed, signed, and witnessed Enduring Guardian instrument (including the acknowledgement declaration)
• The registration fee of $88.20 (FY 2026–2027; check current payment methods — some outlets have specific requirements)
• Photo identification
• A copy of your ACD (the guardian's acknowledgement references it)

Processing time: The outlet forwards your lodgement to TASCAT. Processing typically takes 2–4 weeks after submission. You'll receive confirmation of registration from TASCAT.

Important: TASCAT staff and Service Tasmania staff cannot help you complete the form. They process the lodgement but do not provide guidance on content.

Document 3: Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA)

Registry: Land Titles Office, Hobart (Recorder of Titles) Fee: $172.85 registration (FY 2025–2026 figure; verify the current Land Titles Office schedule) Submission method: Physical lodgement or via legal representative

The EPOA covers financial and property decisions — bank accounts, real estate, investments, bills, and any other financial matter. Without one, your finances are inaccessible to your family if you lose capacity. They'd need to apply to TASCAT for a financial administration order, which involves a hearing, evidence, and legal costs.

What to include in your lodgement:

• The completed, signed, and witnessed EPOA instrument
• The registration fee of $172.85 (FY 2025–2026 figure; verify the current Land Titles Office schedule)
• If registering by mail: include a self-addressed envelope for the receipt

Processing time: 5–15 business days from physical receipt at the Land Titles Office.

Note on revocation: The listed revocation fee is $131.83; verify the current Land Titles Office schedule before lodging.

Recommended Filing Order

You can submit the relevant registrations concurrently — there's no legal requirement to complete them in sequence. However, the most practical order is:

1. Complete all three instruments first. Don't file one before the others are ready. You want all three documents signed, witnessed, and checked before any of them goes to a registry.

2. If you choose to register the ACD, submit it to TASCAT first (by post or online). It's free, and your Enduring Guardian's acknowledgement refers to the ACD, so having a copy ready creates a clean paper trail.

3. Lodge the Enduring Guardian at Service Tasmania. Bring your ACD copy so the filing is complete and the acknowledgement cross-reference is clear.

4. Register the EPOA at the Land Titles Office. This can happen simultaneously with step 3 if you have someone else available to lodge one while you lodge the other, or you can do it the same week.

Total of the listed figures: $261.05 ($0 + $88.20 + $172.85). The EG amount is the FY 2026–2027 fee; the EPOA figure is for FY 2025–2026, so verify the current Land Titles Office schedule before using this total.

Witness Requirements — Check Each Instrument Separately

The witness rules overlap but are not identical across all three documents. An ineligible witness can invalidate the affected instrument and require re-signing; fresh fees may then apply for the EG or EPOA.

Check each instrument's rules:

• ACD: Two independent adult witnesses are required. They cannot be close relatives, the appointed Enduring Guardian, a direct paid carer, an estate beneficiary, or senior staff at the person's residential care facility.
• Enduring Guardian: The witnesses must be independent adults who are not related to either the appointor or the nominated guardian(s).
• EPOA: The donor signs in the presence of two independent witnesses who are not parties to the document or close relatives of a party.

Across the instruments, use independent adult witnesses and check the current form's requirements before signing.

Use a witness verification checklist before signing day. Having a witness disqualified after the fact — because they turned out to be a distant relative or a contracted carer — is one of the most common procedural failures in Tasmanian advance care planning.

Common Mistakes in the Separate Registry Process

Filing the ACD but forgetting the Enduring Guardian. The ACD records your wishes; an Enduring Guardian has a statutory role in personal and healthcare decisions if you lose capacity. Without an EG, your directive still exists, but no named guardian is available to advocate for your documented preferences if family members disagree.

Completing the EG instrument without the acknowledgement declaration. Since September 2024, this is a statutory requirement. If your guardian hasn't signed the declaration confirming they've received, read, and understood your ACD, the instrument may not meet current requirements.

Assuming an EPOA is unnecessary when financial management is needed. If you lose capacity without an EPOA and someone needs to manage your bank accounts, mortgage payments, or investments, that person must apply to TASCAT for a financial administration order. That process can cost more than the $172.85 FY 2025–2026 registration figure and may take longer than a registration; verify the current LTO fee before comparing costs.

Using the same witness without checking each instrument. The witness rules overlap but are not identical; a family member, carer, beneficiary, or facility staff member may be disqualified for a particular instrument. Check each form separately before signing.

Not keeping copies. File originals with the registries and keep certified copies for yourself, your GP, your Enduring Guardian, and your attorney. Also upload the ACD to My Health Record.

Who This Is For

• Tasmanians completing advance care planning for the first time who want to understand the full filing process before they start
• Anyone who has completed one or two of the three documents and needs to know what's missing
• Adult children coordinating filing for a parent — especially when the parent is in a regional area and travel to Hobart (for the EPOA) or a Service Tasmania outlet (for the EG) needs to be planned
• People who completed their documents before September 2024 and need to verify whether their Enduring Guardian instrument includes the updated acknowledgement declaration

Who This Is NOT For

• People using a solicitor for the entire process — the solicitor handles filing
• Anyone who only wants to record medical treatment preferences without appointing a substitute decision-maker or covering financial affairs (in that case, the ACD alone is sufficient, though the coverage gaps remain)
• People in other Australian states — the separate registry system is unique to Tasmania

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I file all three documents in one trip?

Not at one location. The EG is lodged at a Service Tasmania outlet, the EPOA at the Land Titles Office in Hobart, and an ACD can be posted or submitted online to TASCAT if you choose to register it. If you're in Hobart, you could lodge the EG at a local Service Tasmania outlet and the EPOA at the Land Titles Office on the same day, then post the ACD to TASCAT. For people outside Hobart, the EPOA may need to be posted to the Land Titles Office.

What happens if I register the ACD but not the Enduring Guardian?

Your ACD is on record with TASCAT, but no Enduring Guardian has been appointed to make personal, lifestyle, and healthcare decisions or advocate for your preferences if capacity is lost. The treating clinician should apply the ACD to the extent it is clear and applicable; questions outside it may need to be handled under the applicable substitute-decision-making process.

Are the fees likely to change?

Registry fees are updated periodically — typically annually. The EG figure shown is the FY 2026–2027 amount; $172.85 is the FY 2025–2026 EPOA figure. Verify the current Land Titles Office schedule before filing.

Can I register my ACD electronically and still register the EG and EPOA on paper?

Yes. The ACD can be submitted to TASCAT electronically. The EG requires physical lodgement at a Service Tasmania outlet. The EPOA requires physical lodgement at the Land Titles Office. Each registry has its own submission requirements independent of the others.

What if my Enduring Guardian lives interstate or overseas?

If the proposed guardian lives interstate or overseas, confirm the current eligibility requirements with TASCAT. Consider the practical implications: your guardian may need to communicate with Tasmanian healthcare providers, attend TASCAT if a dispute arises, and be available for time-sensitive medical decisions. If your guardian is interstate, make sure they have copies of the relevant instruments and understand the Tasmanian clinical framework, particularly the GOC Plan phases.

The Tasmania Advance Directive & Living Will Kit includes the Split-Registry Filing Checklist with pack lists, fee guidance, and receipt fields for the relevant registries, plus the Witness Verification Sheets, Guardian Acknowledgement Declaration, and GOC Plan Alignment Worksheet — everything needed to complete the separate registry process without missing a step.

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