Joint and Alternative Enduring Guardians in Tasmania

Most people appointing an enduring guardian in Tasmania name one person and move on. That works until that person is travelling when the hospital calls, or until two adult children are both expecting to be consulted on Mum's care decisions. Tasmania's Guardianship and Administration Act 1995 allows you to appoint more than one guardian — either acting jointly or as alternatives — but the two structures work very differently and solve different problems.

Joint guardians: shared authority, shared responsibility

When you appoint joint enduring guardians, both (or all) must agree on every decision. Neither can act alone. When a decision requires guardian consent, both guardians need to be consulted and agree before the medical team can rely on that consent.

When joint appointment works well:

• You have two adult children and want both involved in major healthcare decisions — residential placement, life-sustaining treatment, palliative care transitions
• You want a built-in check on any single person's judgment, particularly for emotionally charged end-of-life decisions
• Both guardians live in Tasmania, are reliably available, and have a cooperative relationship

When joint appointment causes problems:

• If one guardian is unreachable (travelling, unwell, out of phone range in rural Tasmania), the other cannot legally act alone. The hospital faces a decision vacuum
• If the two guardians disagree — one wants to consent to treatment, the other refuses — the decision stalls. In urgent situations, the medical team may need to apply to TASCAT for direction, which takes time the patient may not have
• Deadlock between joint guardians can lead to TASCAT involvement to review the appointment or give directions

If you appoint joint guardians, understand that they must act jointly and reach agreement. If one is absent or incapacitated, consider naming an alternative guardian in the instrument. Your advance care directive handles the rest: binding treatment refusals in your ACD apply regardless of what either guardian thinks.

Alternative guardians: a succession plan

An alternative enduring guardian steps in during the primary guardian's absence or incapacity. Think of it as a succession plan. Your primary guardian handles everything unless they can't, at which point the alternative takes over automatically without needing to go back to TASCAT.

When alternative appointment works well:

• Your first-choice guardian is reliable but lives interstate or travels frequently
• You want a backup in case your primary guardian's own health declines (common when the primary guardian is a spouse of similar age)
• You want to avoid the deadlock risk of joint appointments while still having a safety net

When alternative appointment falls short:

• The alternative guardian may be called to act suddenly, with little context about recent medical decisions or your current condition. Unlike a joint guardian who's been involved all along, the alternative may be starting from scratch
• If your primary guardian is technically available but making decisions you wouldn't have wanted, the alternative has no standing to intervene — only TASCAT can review the primary guardian's decisions

Combining both structures

Some people appoint two joint guardians plus a named alternative who steps in if either joint guardian can no longer serve. This is legally permissible in Tasmania but adds complexity to the instrument. The alternative needs to understand the dynamic they're stepping into and be prepared to work alongside the remaining joint guardian.

Practical requirements for multiple appointments

Every guardian you appoint — whether joint or alternative — must meet the same eligibility criteria:

• At least 18 years old
• Not a person involved in a professional capacity in your medical care or support services (not your GP, paid carer, or residential facility manager)
• Willing to sign the mandatory declaration confirming they have obtained, read, and understood your advance care directive (this requirement was introduced in September 2024)

Each guardian signs the appointment instrument individually. All signatures and witness attestations must be on the same document — you can't have separate instruments for each guardian. Two independent witnesses over 18, who are not related to either the appointor or any of the nominated guardians, must attest to the signing.

The registration fee at Service Tasmania is the same regardless of how many guardians you appoint: 45 fee units ($88.20 for FY 2026–2027). You're registering one instrument, not one per guardian.

Which structure most people actually need

For most Tasmanians, one primary guardian plus one alternative is the safest structure. It avoids deadlock, ensures someone can always act, and keeps the decision-making chain clear for hospital staff. Joint appointments make sense when the appointor specifically wants shared decision-making — but only between people who communicate well and can reach consensus under pressure.

Whatever structure you choose, the critical step isn't the paperwork — it's the conversation. Every guardian you appoint should understand your advance care directive in detail: your treatment preferences, your binding refusals, your values around quality of life, and the situations where you'd want treatment stopped.

The Tasmania Advance Directive & Living Will Kit walks you through each appointment structure with decision criteria, and includes the TASCAT-compliant forms for both joint and alternative guardian appointments.

See more Tasmania guides →