Power of Attorney for Ageing Parent South Australia

The Window Closes Without Warning

The hardest thing about setting up power of attorney for an ageing parent is that it must be done while they still have decision-making capacity. Once dementia, a stroke, or another health event takes that capacity away, it's too late. The forms cannot be signed, and the family's only option is a SACAT application — a 4 to 6 week process that may end with the Public Trustee managing your parent's finances instead of you.

There's no minimum capacity threshold that triggers urgency. The trigger should be any concern at all: a parent forgetting appointments, struggling with bills, showing early signs of cognitive change, or simply reaching the age where planning ahead is sensible. The conversation is easier to have while everything is fine than in the middle of a health crisis.

What Your Parent Needs: Two Documents, Not One

South Australia requires two separate documents to cover all decision-making authority:

Enduring Power of Attorney (Form P2) — covers financial and legal matters: bank accounts, paying bills, selling property, managing investments, handling tax. Governed by the Powers of Attorney and Agency Act 1984.

Advance Care Directive (ACD) — covers healthcare, medical treatment, residential accommodation, and personal lifestyle decisions. Governed by the Advance Care Directives Act 2013. The ACD also allows your parent to record their preferences for end-of-life care and appoint Substitute Decision-Makers (SDMs).

Completing only the EPA leaves a dangerous gap. If your parent needs to move into a nursing home, the financial attorney can manage the payments — but without an ACD, nobody has legal authority to consent to the placement itself, or to make medical decisions on your parent's behalf.

Nursing Home and Aged Care Authority

The aged care transition is the scenario that catches most families off guard. Selling the family home to fund residential aged care requires both documents:

• EPA for the financial side: listing the property, signing the contract of sale, receiving proceeds, paying the Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) to the aged care facility
• ACD for the personal side: consenting to the residential placement, choosing between facilities, making healthcare decisions within the facility

Without an EPA, the property sale stalls. Without an ACD, the aged care provider may refuse to accept the resident without the consent of an authorised decision-maker. And the EPA attorney has no authority to sign the accommodation agreement's personal care components.

Having the Conversation

Most adult children dread this conversation, and most parents resist it — at least initially. The framing that works best isn't "we need to plan for when you can't manage" but "this is about keeping control in our family, not giving it away."

Here's what to emphasise:

• It's about their choice, made now. An EPA lets your parent choose who manages their affairs. Without one, SACAT decides — and the Tribunal's choice may not match your parent's wishes.
• It doesn't take away any rights. Under Option A (immediate), the parent can still manage their own affairs. The attorney has authority to act, but the parent retains all their own authority too. Nothing changes day-to-day.
• It protects against the Public Trustee. If the family can't act, the Public Trustee steps in at up to 4.4% capital commission. Under the reducing commission schedule, a $500,000 estate incurs $17,600 in capital commission before any other fees.
• They can add conditions. Your parent can restrict the attorney's powers — for example, requiring that the family home cannot be sold without agreement from a second person.

Who Should Be the Attorney

Your parent chooses who to appoint. The attorney should be someone who:

• Is trustworthy and has your parent's interests at heart
• Has reasonable financial literacy (they don't need to be an accountant, but they need to understand basic money management)
• Is available and accessible — not living overseas with limited contact
• Can work cooperatively with other family members to avoid disputes

Appointing multiple attorneys jointly and severally gives flexibility. Each attorney can act independently, which avoids paralysis if one person is unavailable. Joint-only appointments mean every decision requires unanimous agreement — protective, but impractical if attorneys can't always be contacted quickly.

If there's any risk of family conflict, consider appointing an independent third party (a trusted friend, accountant, or professional attorney) alongside or instead of family members. The cost of managing occasional professional fees is far lower than the cost of a family dispute at SACAT.

The Step-by-Step Process

1. Download Form P2 from Land Services SA (free) and the ACD form from SA Health (free)
2. Complete Form P2 in blue or black ink, no abbreviations, choosing Option A or Option B for activation
3. Complete the ACD — record your parent's healthcare and personal preferences, appoint SDMs if desired
4. Arrange witnessing — find a JP (free at Service SA centres) for the EPA. The ACD also needs an independent authorised witness, and SDMs must sign their acceptance before the ACD is witnessed
5. Attorney signs the Schedule 2 acceptance on the EPA
6. Register the EPA with Land Services SA ($204) if the attorney will need to deal with your parent's real property
7. Register the EPA with your parent's bank proactively — don't wait for a crisis
8. Store the originals safely and give certified copies to the attorney, the bank, the GP, and any relevant family members

Powers of Attorney and Agency Act 1984

The full title of the governing legislation matters when dealing with institutions. Banks and aged care providers occasionally claim that a South Australian EPA isn't valid because they're unfamiliar with the state-specific form. Citing the Powers of Attorney and Agency Act 1984 (SA) confirms the document's legislative basis and usually resolves the confusion.

If an institution continues to refuse the EPA, escalate through their internal dispute resolution process, then to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) for banks or the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission for care facilities.

The South Australia Power of Attorney Kit provides the full setup process for both the EPA and ACD, including capacity assessment guidance, a decision-maker selection worksheet, and the bank acceptance strategy that prevents institutional rejections before they happen.

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