How to Get Power of Attorney in NSW: Steps, Costs, and Requirements
General vs Enduring: Pick the Right Type
NSW has two types of power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act 2003. A general power of attorney authorises someone to manage your finances while you still have capacity — useful when you are travelling overseas or temporarily unable to attend to business. It automatically terminates if you lose decision-making capacity.
An enduring power of attorney continues operating (or begins operating) after you lose capacity. This is the document most families need because its entire purpose is to cover the scenario where you cannot manage your own affairs. Unless you specifically need a temporary arrangement for a defined period, the enduring version is almost always the right choice.
Who Can Be Your Attorney
Any adult (18 or older) can be appointed as your attorney, including family members, friends, or professionals. You can appoint multiple attorneys to act jointly (every decision requires unanimous agreement), severally (each can act independently), or jointly and severally (they can act together or alone as circumstances require).
The NSW Trustee & Guardian can also be appointed as attorney, but their fee structure makes this expensive. They charge a $550 establishment fee, an annual management fee of 1.1% of total managed asset value (minimum $1,100 per year), and a $132 annual account-keeping fee. For a household with $800,000 in managed assets, that translates to roughly $9,000 per year in ongoing fees — a cost that surprises many families who assumed the state trustee was a free or low-cost option.
The Witnessing Process
The principal's signature on an enduring power of attorney must be witnessed by a prescribed witness. In NSW, this is limited to:
- An Australian legal practitioner with a current practising certificate
- A registrar of an NSW Local Court
- A licensed conveyancer who has completed the approved course
- An approved employee of the NSW Trustee & Guardian or a trustee company who has completed the approved course
- A qualified foreign legal practitioner
A Justice of the Peace cannot witness an enduring power of attorney in NSW. This is one of the most common execution errors — and it invalidates the entire document.
The prescribed witness must explain the effect of the power of attorney to you, then sign a certificate confirming that you appeared to understand the nature and consequences of the document and signed it voluntarily. The attorney must also sign an acceptance before acting, but that acceptance does not require its own prescribed witness certificate.
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Registration With Land Registry Services
If your attorney will need to deal with real property — selling the family home to fund aged care, refinancing a mortgage, or managing rental property — the enduring power of attorney must be registered with NSW Land Registry Services. The registration fee is $182.71 (effective 1 July 2026). Without registration, the attorney cannot sign transfer documents or lodge any property dealings.
Registration is not required for bank accounts, shares, superannuation, or other non-property assets. But given that real property is often the largest asset families need to manage during incapacity, most enduring powers of attorney should be registered as a precaution.
What It Costs
The document itself has no government filing fee. Your costs come from the prescribed witness requirement and optional legal drafting:
- Local Court registrar witnessing: Free, but requires a formal appointment and they will not help you complete the form or explain complex clauses
- Solicitor witnessing and drafting: Typically $366 to $550 per document. Many firms offer a "planning bundle" that includes the enduring power of attorney, enduring guardian appointment, and will for $800 to $1,500
- NSW Trustee & Guardian drafting: Free if you receive a full Centrelink Age Pension; $231 per document otherwise
- Land Registry registration: $182.71 per document (only if property dealings are anticipated)
What Power of Attorney Does Not Cover
A financial power of attorney has no authority over healthcare, medical treatment, accommodation, or lifestyle decisions. If you want someone to make medical decisions for you, you need a separate appointment of enduring guardian under the Guardianship Act 1987. And if you want to record specific treatment preferences (like refusing CPR or mechanical ventilation), you need a common-law advance care directive on top of both statutory instruments.
The NSW Advance Directive & Living Will Kit covers all three documents together, with witnessing checklists and clinical translation worksheets that ensure every gap is closed.
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