Power of Attorney Aged Care Victoria: EPA Rules for Nursing Homes and RADs

Why Aged Care Is Where EPAs Get Tested Hardest

Moving a parent into residential aged care is one of the most complex financial and personal transactions a Victorian family will face. It involves signing a resident agreement, negotiating a refundable accommodation deposit (RAD) that can exceed $500,000, managing ongoing daily care fees, and potentially selling the family home to fund the deposit.

An enduring power of attorney (EPA) is essential for managing this process when the person entering care has lost decision-making capacity. But not every EPA is drafted broadly enough to cover what aged care actually requires — and aged care providers know it.

What the EPA Needs to Cover

Under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic), an EPA can grant authority over financial matters, personal matters, or both. For aged care, you typically need both:

Financial authority covers:

• Paying the RAD (refundable accommodation deposit) or DAP (daily accommodation payment)
• Signing the resident agreement with the aged care provider
• Selling property to fund the accommodation deposit
• Managing Centrelink means-testing and income-tested fee assessments

Personal authority covers:

• Choosing the specific facility
• Making decisions about the person's living arrangements and daily care
• Consenting to social and lifestyle services within the facility

If the EPA only covers financial matters, the attorney can pay the bills but can't legally consent to the admission itself or make decisions about the person's day-to-day care arrangements. If it only covers personal matters, the attorney can choose the facility but can't sign the financial agreement or sell property to fund the deposit.

The Accommodation Deposit Problem

RADs in Victoria range from under $200,000 in outer suburban and regional facilities to over $800,000 in premium inner-Melbourne homes. Paying a RAD almost always requires selling or refinancing the principal's real estate — and that introduces an additional layer of complexity.

To sell property under an EPA in Victoria:

1. The EPA must be registered with Land Use Victoria (LUV) before any property transaction can proceed. This costs approximately $204 per donor.
2. The attorney must complete a Verification of Identity (VOI) under ARNECC rules through a licensed conveyancer or solicitor.
3. The sale must not be a conflict transaction under Section 64/67 of the Act — the attorney can't sell the property to themselves, their relatives, or their business associates unless the EPA explicitly authorises it or VCAT approves.

Aged care providers won't wait indefinitely for the RAD. If you're relying on a property sale to fund it, the attorney needs to start the LUV registration and conveyancing process well before the admission date.

Medical Decisions Are Separate

A common misconception is that an EPA covering personal matters also covers medical treatment decisions within the aged care facility. It doesn't.

Victoria separates medical decision-making entirely under the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016. If the resident loses capacity and needs consent for a medical procedure, a dental extraction, or a change in medication, the EPA attorney has no legal standing to consent.

That authority sits with:

• An appointed Medical Treatment Decision Maker (MTDM), if one has been named
• The statutory hierarchy of family members, if no MTDM exists (spouse, then primary carer, then oldest adult child, and so on)

For families arranging aged care, this means the EPA and MTDM appointment should ideally be executed at the same time, naming the same trusted person in both roles where practical.

What Aged Care Providers Check

Residential aged care facilities in Victoria have become increasingly rigorous about verifying EPA documentation before accepting an attorney's signature on admission paperwork. Expect them to check:

• That the EPA is executed under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (not an older-format document)
• That the witnessing requirements were properly met (two witnesses, one authorised)
• That the attorney has signed the Statement of Acceptance
• That the EPA covers both financial and personal matters (if the attorney is handling the full admission)
• That there's medical evidence of the principal's incapacity, if the EPA's personal powers are drafted to activate only upon loss of capacity

An EPA that doesn't pass these checks gets sent back, delaying the admission and potentially losing the bed allocation.

Planning Ahead Makes Everything Easier

The worst time to discover that an EPA isn't broad enough for aged care is when you're standing in the facility's admin office trying to sign the resident agreement. By then, if the principal has already lost capacity, it's too late to amend the document — you'd need to apply to VCAT for an administration order, which takes months and costs thousands.

Our Victoria Power of Attorney Kit covers the aged care scenario in detail — how to draft the EPA to cover both financial and personal matters, the property sale workflow through LUV and PEXA, and the coordination with MTDM appointments for medical decisions within the facility.

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