Power of Attorney in Western Australia: EPA and EPG Setup Guide

Western Australia Uses Two Separate Documents, Not One

Most Australian states let you roll financial and personal decision-making into a single instrument. Western Australia doesn't. Under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990, the state splits substitute decision-making across two documents:

• Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) — covers finances, property, and legal contracts
• Enduring Power of Guardianship (EPG) — covers personal, lifestyle, and medical decisions

A third document, the Advance Health Directive (AHD), records specific treatment consents or refusals and overrides the EPG on anything it explicitly addresses.

If you only set up an EPA, an attorney has no authority under that document over your personal or healthcare decisions; those decisions may instead involve an EPG, an AHD, or the statutory treatment-decision framework. If you only set up an EPG, an enduring guardian has no authority under that document to manage bank accounts; an EPA is the financial instrument. You need both.

How the EPA Works

An EPA lets you appoint one or two attorneys to manage your financial affairs — bank accounts, investments, bills, and real estate transactions. You choose how many and how they operate:

• Joint attorneys must agree unanimously on every decision
• Joint and several attorneys can act independently or together
• Substitute attorneys step in if a primary attorney can't act

You also choose when the EPA takes effect. An "immediate" EPA starts working once the document is fully completed, including the attorney's required acceptance of appointment, and continues through any future incapacity. A "dormant" EPA sits inactive until the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) formally declares you've lost capacity.

The official EPA form is free from the Office of the Public Advocate. Download the full kit — the form alone without the instructions is a common source of execution errors.

Signing and Witnessing Requirements

Both the EPA and EPG must be signed by the donor in front of two independent witnesses who are at least 18 years old. At least one witness must be an "authorised witness" under Schedule 2 of the Oaths, Affidavits and Statutory Declarations Act 2005. That includes:

• Practising lawyers
• Registered medical practitioners
• Police officers
• Justices of the Peace
• Pharmacists and registered nurses

The witness must be actively practising — a retired doctor or former police officer doesn't qualify. Neither witness can be someone you're appointing as an attorney or guardian under the document.

After the donor signs, each appointed attorney must sign the "Acceptance of Appointment" section, also in front of witnesses. The EPA isn't legally valid until this acceptance is completed.

Landgate Registration for Property

If you own real estate in WA, the EPA must be registered with Landgate before your attorney can sign any land transaction. Registration costs $225.10 (as of 1 July 2026) and requires submitting two originally signed EPA documents. Landgate permanently archives one and returns the other.

If you submit only one original, Landgate keeps it — and you're left without an original for banks and other institutions. Getting a certified copy from Landgate later costs $113.90.

Register within three months of signing. After that window, you'll need a Statutory Declaration of Non-Revocation confirming the EPA hasn't been cancelled, including the date and manner of your last communication with the donor within the previous seven days.

What It Costs (DIY vs Professional)

Setting up power of attorney in WA doesn't require a lawyer. The official forms are free. Your real costs are:

• Landgate EPA registration: $225.10 (only if you own real property)
• Certified copies from Landgate: $113.90 each
• Witnessing fees: Many JPs witness for free; some charge a small fee

If you use a law firm in Perth, expect to pay $760–$1,500 for a combined Will, EPA, and EPG package. The Citizens Advice Bureau of WA drafts EPAs and EPGs for roughly $65 each, though appointment wait times can stretch several weeks.

For a structured walkthrough of the entire process — from choosing the right type of EPA to getting banks to accept it — the Western Australia Power of Attorney Kit covers each step with checklists and Landgate-specific preparation guides.

What Happens If You Don't Set One Up

If you lose capacity without a valid EPA or EPG, your family can't simply step in. They'll need to apply to the State Administrative Tribunal for a Guardianship or Administration Order. The SAT doesn't charge application fees, but the process takes roughly eight weeks, requires a detailed GP capacity report, and freezes your financial and healthcare decisions in the meantime.

If family members disagree or the SAT considers them unsuitable, the Public Trustee or Public Advocate steps in as decision-maker of last resort. The Public Trustee charges effort-based fees that can run into thousands of dollars annually — and removing them later requires a formal SAT review with medical evidence of regained capacity.

The simplest way to avoid all of this: set up both documents while you still have capacity.

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