How to Set Up Power of Attorney in Victoria Without a Solicitor
You do not need a solicitor to set up a legally valid power of attorney in Victoria. Victorian law gives every competent adult the right to execute an enduring power of attorney, appoint a medical treatment decision maker, and create an advance care directive without professional legal assistance. What you do need is the correct forms, the correct witnesses, and a clear understanding of Victoria's dual-statute framework — because this is where most DIY attempts fail.
The process has three distinct document tracks, each with its own legal requirements. Getting the financial EPA right doesn't help if your medical documents are invalid, and a perfectly executed medical directive doesn't give your attorney access to your bank accounts. Here's how to complete all three correctly.
Step 1: Understand Victoria's Three-Document System
Victoria is the only Australian state that completely separates financial, personal, and medical decision-making across two different statutes:
Statute 1 — Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic): Covers the Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA), which authorises your attorney to manage your financial matters (bank accounts, property sales, tax returns) and personal matters (living arrangements, daily care decisions). This is the document most people think of when they hear "power of attorney."
Statute 2 — Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 (Vic): Covers the Medical Treatment Decision Maker (MTDM) appointment and the Advance Care Directive (ACD). The MTDM is the person who makes healthcare decisions on your behalf when you can't. The ACD is a written directive that health practitioners must follow directly — it's the strongest patient-autonomy mechanism in Australia.
A financial EPA does not let your attorney consent to your surgery. An MTDM appointment does not let your decision maker access your bank account. You need both statutes covered.
Step 2: Choose Your Attorney Appointment Structure
Before you touch any forms, decide how you want to structure your attorney appointment for the financial EPA. This decision has practical consequences that most DIY preparers don't anticipate:
- Sole attorney: One person makes all financial and personal decisions. Simplest structure, no co-attorney coordination required, although each bank still has its own verification requirements.
- Joint attorneys: Two or more people who must all agree on every decision. Offers protection against unilateral action, but Ubank explicitly rejects "jointly only" EPAs for digital transaction accounts because their online platforms can't support dual-authorisation.
- Several attorneys: Two or more people who can each act independently. Maximum flexibility, but no built-in check on individual decisions.
- Majority attorneys: Decisions made by majority vote. Middle ground, but adds administrative complexity.
If you're appointing multiple attorneys and any of them will need to operate digital banking platforms, "several" or "majority" is usually the safer structure. Banks' internal compliance requirements often lag behind legal validity — a "jointly only" EPA may be legally perfect and still get rejected at the branch counter.
Step 3: Complete the Financial/Personal EPA
Download the prescribed forms from the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA). Since the Powers of Attorney Regulations 2025 commenced on 10 August 2025, you must use the updated prescribed forms — older versions are no longer valid.
You can use either the Short Form EPA (a simpler, tick-box format) or the Long Form EPA (which allows custom conditions, restrictions, and attorney powers). Most families with straightforward situations can use the Short Form.
Witnessing requirements for the EPA:
- Two adult witnesses must be present at signing
- At least one witness must be authorised to witness affidavits (for example, a Justice of the Peace or practising lawyer) or be a registered medical practitioner
- Neither witness can be the appointed attorney, a relative of the principal or attorney, or a care or accommodation provider for the principal
Remote witnessing (via audio-visual link) is permitted under the 2025 Regulations, but the requirements are demanding: at least one witness must be a "special witness" (typically a practising lawyer or JP), and the entire transaction — principal signing, all witnesses signing, and all counterpart documents — must be completed on the exact same calendar day.
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Step 4: Complete the MTDM Appointment
This is a separate document under a separate statute. The MTDM appointment authorises one person to make medical treatment decisions on your behalf when you lose decision-making capacity.
Witnessing requirements for the MTDM (different from the EPA):
- Two adult witnesses required
- One witness must be a registered medical practitioner or a person authorised to witness affidavits
- Remote witnessing is completely prohibited for medical directives — the principal, the appointed MTDM, and both witnesses must all be physically present
This is the step that trips up most DIY preparers. They complete a valid EPA, assume the witnessing rules are the same for medical documents, and attempt to sign the MTDM remotely. The resulting document is invalid.
Step 5: Create the Advance Care Directive (Optional but Recommended)
An ACD is not required, but it's the most powerful document in Victoria's framework. An instructional directive — a binding statement that you consent to or refuse specific medical treatments — must be followed by health practitioners directly, even if your family or your appointed MTDM disagrees.
A values directive (documenting your general quality-of-life preferences) provides guidance but is not strictly binding.
Witnessing requirements for the ACD:
- Two adult witnesses required
- One witness must be a registered medical practitioner
- Remote witnessing is completely prohibited
- The medical practitioner witness must confirm that the principal appeared to have decision-making capacity at the time of signing
Step 6: Get Your Documents Accepted by Institutions
Executing valid documents is only half the job. You also need banks, hospitals, and government registries to accept them. This is where solicitor-drafted documents have an advantage — institutions tend to accept documents on the strength of the law firm's letterhead. DIY documents face more scrutiny.
Bank compliance: Contact your bank before presenting the EPA. Ask for their POA team or legal compliance department. Bring certified copies of every page (not just the signing page). Know the Australian Banking Association guidelines — specifically, that banks are expected to accept validly executed EPAs without requiring additional legal opinions. If a branch manager pushes back, request escalation to their legal team and cite the ABA guidelines.
Land Use Victoria: If the attorney will need to sell property, the EPA must be registered with Land Use Victoria (LUV). This requires formal client verification of identity under ARNECC rules and a declaration about conflict transactions under sections 64–65 of the Act.
Hospital and aged care: Present the MTDM appointment separately from the EPA. Hospital staff are trained to look for the medical-specific document under the 2016 Act. Presenting a financial EPA and asking them to accept it for medical decisions will be refused, regardless of how well the EPA was executed.
Who This Is For
- Anyone with clear decision-making capacity who wants to complete their own POA documents
- Families comfortable following structured instructions without a solicitor
- Regional Victorians with limited access to elder-law specialists
- Anyone who wants to save $500–$1,400 compared to full solicitor engagement
Who This Is NOT For
- Anyone whose capacity is uncertain or contested by family members
- Principals with complex estates involving business interests or cross-jurisdictional assets
- Families where there is active disagreement about attorney appointments
- Situations involving suspected or historical financial abuse
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a DIY power of attorney as legally valid as one drafted by a solicitor?
Yes. Victorian law makes no distinction between solicitor-prepared and self-prepared documents. Validity depends entirely on correct execution — the right forms, the right witnesses, the right signatures. A solicitor adds value through protective drafting (custom restrictions, capacity assessments) and institutional credibility, not through any enhanced legal status of the document itself.
What's the most common mistake that invalidates a DIY power of attorney?
Using the wrong witnessing arrangement. Specifically: using a non-qualified witness (someone who isn't authorised to witness affidavits), having a witness who is related to the principal or attorney, or attempting to witness medical documents remotely. Any of these renders the document invalid with no cure except starting the process over — which may be impossible if the principal has lost capacity in the meantime.
Can I use a kit I bought for another Australian state?
An EPA made under another Australian state's law is not automatically invalid in Victoria: Victoria generally recognises interstate EPAs where the powers could be given in Victoria. But institutional and land-registry requirements can vary, so use Victorian forms for a new appointment or check the receiving institution's requirements before relying on an interstate document.
Do I need to register my EPA with anyone?
Registration is optional at the time of signing. However, if the attorney ever needs to sell the principal's property, the EPA must be registered with Land Use Victoria. Many families register proactively to avoid delays later — particularly if the principal is entering aged care and the family home may need to be sold to fund a refundable accommodation deposit.
The Victoria Power of Attorney Kit gives you the structured, step-by-step process for completing all three documents yourself — the financial/personal EPA, the MTDM appointment, and the advance care directive — with witnessing checklists, bank compliance protocols, and the 2025 Regulations procedures. It's the middle ground between blank government forms and a $1,500 solicitor engagement.
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