What Happens If There Is No Power of Attorney in Tasmania

Your parent has had a stroke. They can't manage their bank accounts, their mortgage is due, and the aged care facility needs a $300,000 refundable accommodation deposit. Nobody in the family has a power of attorney. Now what?

Immediate Financial Paralysis

Without a registered enduring power of attorney, nobody — not the spouse, not the adult children, not the next of kin — has legal authority to access the incapacitated person's bank accounts, pay their bills, sell their property, or manage their investments.

Banks may restrict access to sole accounts once they become aware of the account holder's incapacity. Joint accounts remain subject to the joint holder's own authority — and any assets held solely in the incapacitated person's name remain inaccessible to the family without a legal appointment.

The family home can't be sold to fund aged care. The mortgage can't be refinanced. Utility bills pile up. Direct debits bounce. Credit card payments go into default. All of this happens while the family scrambles to find a legal pathway through the freeze.

The TASCAT Application Process

The only route to financial authority when there's no EPOA is through the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) Guardianship Stream. Here's how it works:

Step 1: Obtain a Health Practitioner Report. A medical professional must assess the person and confirm they lack decision-making capacity. This report is required before TASCAT will accept the application.

Step 2: Lodge the application. Submit a TASCAT Guardianship/Administration Application to the Protective Division. There is no filing fee for guardianship or administration applications — but that's where the cost savings end.

Step 3: Serve formal notices. The application must be served on the represented person (the incapacitated individual) and their close family members. TASCAT determines who must be notified based on the circumstances.

Step 4: Attend the hearing. TASCAT hearings are held in Hobart or Launceston, sometimes by teleconference. The tribunal will hear from the applicant, any interested family members, and potentially the represented person (if they can participate).

Step 5: Receive the order. If satisfied, TASCAT may issue:

• An Administration Order — appointing an administrator to manage financial affairs
• A Guardianship Order — appointing a guardian for personal and medical decisions

The tribunal decides who to appoint. It's often a family member, but TASCAT can appoint the Public Trustee (for financial matters) or the Public Guardian (for personal matters) if no suitable family member is available, or if there's family conflict.

How Long It Takes

From the initial medical assessment to a TASCAT hearing and order, the process takes weeks to months — sometimes longer if the application is complex, contested, or requires additional evidence.

During this entire period, the family has no legal authority over the person's finances. Emergency provisions exist for urgent medical decisions (the statutory "Person Responsible" hierarchy covers immediate medical consent), but there is no emergency shortcut for financial management.

Ongoing Obligations After a TASCAT Order

A TASCAT-appointed administrator operates under significantly more oversight than a private attorney under an EPOA:

• Annual accounting: The administrator must file annual statements of accounts with TASCAT's compliance officers. The examination fee is $231.28 (FY 2026–27), waived only if the estate is under $50,000.
• Restricted authority: The administrator's powers are defined and limited by the TASCAT order. Anything outside those powers requires a fresh application to the tribunal.
• Ongoing review: TASCAT can review the order at any time, modify the administrator's powers, or replace them if concerns arise.
• Record-keeping: Under the September 2024 amendments, guardians and administrators must keep detailed records of their decisions and transactions, with penalties for non-compliance.

The Public Trustee Appointment

If TASCAT appoints the Public Trustee as administrator, the ongoing commission fees apply:

• Capital commission: 4.5% on the first $200,000 of assets, reducing to 1.5% above $600,000
• Income commission: 6.6% on all income received — superannuation, pensions, interest, rental income, dividends
• Monthly account keeping: $13.50 plus additional fees for tax returns and investment management

On a $400,000 estate with $25,000 annual income, the Public Trustee's fees in the first year alone can exceed $10,000 — an annual cost that continues for as long as they manage the person's affairs.

The Person Responsible Hierarchy (Medical Only)

For urgent medical decisions when no enduring guardian exists, Tasmanian law provides a default "Person Responsible" hierarchy. Healthcare professionals identify the decision-maker in this order:

1. An appointed guardian with medical decision-making powers
2. A spouse or de facto partner with a close, continuing relationship
3. A primary, unpaid carer
4. A close family member (parent, adult child, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle) who maintains frequent personal contact
5. For Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander individuals, an adult relative recognised under traditional kinship rules

The Person Responsible can consent to routine and major medical treatment. But they have zero authority over financial matters — no bank accounts, no property sales, no bill payments. They also cannot refuse or withdraw consent for life-sustaining medical treatment; only an appointed enduring guardian or TASCAT can make that decision.

Avoiding This Entirely

Every step of this process — the TASCAT application, the hearing, the ongoing accounting, the Public Trustee's fees — exists only because the person did not complete the pair of documents and pay the $265.58 in registration fees while they still had capacity.

The Tasmania Power of Attorney Kit covers both the financial EPOA and enduring guardianship in one package, with step-by-step guidance through both registrations. The total government registration cost for both documents is $265.58 — a fraction of what a single year of TASCAT-supervised administration costs.

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