Parent Lost Capacity with No Power of Attorney in WA: The SAT Pathway

You Can't Backdate a Power of Attorney

If your parent has already lost capacity — whether from dementia, a stroke, a brain injury, or another condition — it's too late to set up an Enduring Power of Attorney or Enduring Power of Guardianship. Both documents require the donor to have full legal capacity at the moment of signing. An EPA or EPG signed after capacity loss is void.

This means the bank accounts stay frozen, healthcare decisions sit in limbo, and you can't sell the house to fund aged care. The only path forward is through the State Administrative Tribunal.

What the SAT Does

The State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) has exclusive jurisdiction in Western Australia to appoint guardians and administrators when someone lacks capacity and has no valid EPA or EPG in place.

An administration order gives the appointed person authority over financial matters — bank accounts, bills, property transactions. This replaces the role an EPA would have filled.

A guardianship order gives authority over personal and lifestyle decisions — where the person lives, what medical treatments they receive, what support services they access. This replaces the EPG.

You can apply for one or both.

How to Apply

Applications can be made through the Department of Justice eCourts Portal; a hard-copy form can also be requested.

What you need to submit:

1. A Cognitive Capacity Medical Report. This must come from a registered medical practitioner (typically the parent's GP) and detail the diagnosis, the nature and severity of the cognitive impairment, and the practitioner's assessment of current decision-making capacity.

2. A Service Provider Report. This outlines the person's social circumstances, housing situation, care needs, and support services currently in place. Aged-care coordinators, social workers, or hospital discharge planners can prepare this.

3. Your application form. The eCourts Portal guides you through this — it identifies the person who has lost capacity, the applicant seeking appointment, and the specific orders you're requesting.

Filing fee: Zero. The SAT does not charge application or hearing fees for guardianship and administration matters under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990.

The Eight-Week Timeline

Under Practice Note 9, the standard processing time from application to hearing is approximately eight weeks. During this period:

• The SAT notifies the person who is the subject of the application
• The Office of the Public Advocate may conduct an investigation
• Family members and other interested parties may be contacted
• A hearing is scheduled

At the hearing, the SAT decides whether the person genuinely lacks capacity, whether an order is necessary, and who should be appointed. If you're the applicant, you'll typically be appointed unless there are family disputes or concerns about suitability.

Urgent Situations: Interim Orders

Eight weeks is a long time when bills are unpaid, the bank account is frozen, and an aged-care placement offer expires in days.

If there's an immediate medical, financial, or safety crisis, you can request an urgent interim order through the eCourts Portal. The SAT can issue emergency orders within 24–48 hours, granting temporary authority for up to three months while the full application is processed.

Mark the application as urgent and attach evidence of the crisis — a letter from the bank confirming the account freeze, a medical report showing the urgency of treatment decisions, or documentation of an expiring aged-care placement.

What If the SAT Appoints the Public Trustee?

If family members are in dispute, no suitable private administrator is available, or the SAT has concerns about the proposed applicant, they may appoint the Public Trustee (for financial matters) or the Public Advocate (for personal decisions) instead.

The Public Trustee charges an establishment fee of $469 plus ongoing effort-based management fees drawn from the represented person's assets. Once appointed, removing them requires a formal SAT review supported by medical evidence or documented concerns — a process that can take months.

The strongest way to avoid this outcome is to be well-prepared: arrive at the hearing with the medical and service provider reports, a clear plan for managing the person's affairs, and evidence that you're a suitable and willing administrator.

For families navigating this process alongside setting up protective structures for other family members, the Western Australia Power of Attorney Kit covers both the SAT fallback pathway and the EPA/EPG setup process for family members who still have capacity.

See more Western Australia guides →