Registered Supporter vs Power of Attorney in Aged Care Australia

When you start helping your parent navigate My Aged Care, you'll quickly encounter two distinct legal concepts: the Registered Supporter role and Enduring Power of Attorney. They sound similar — both let you act on your parent's behalf — but they grant very different levels of authority, and confusing them can create serious problems down the track.

What Is a Registered Supporter?

The Registered Supporter role was introduced on 1 November 2025 under the new Aged Care Act 2024, replacing the previous My Aged Care representative and authorised representative roles.

A Registered Supporter can:

• Access your parent's My Aged Care account and records
• Receive communications and correspondence from My Aged Care
• Help with registration, assessment scheduling, and provider selection
• Attend appointments and assessments alongside your parent
• Communicate with service providers on your parent's behalf

A Registered Supporter cannot:

• Make legal decisions for your parent
• Sign service agreements without your parent's consent
• Consent to medical treatments or care plans
• Override your parent's stated wishes
• Access bank accounts or manage financial affairs

The key principle: the Registered Supporter role presumes that your parent retains decision-making capacity. You're there to support and assist, not to decide. Your parent remains the decision-maker.

Registration is straightforward — you can set it up during the initial My Aged Care phone call using Part C of the application form, or later through the My Aged Care online portal.

What Is Enduring Power of Attorney?

An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA) is a legal document that gives you authority to make decisions on your parent's behalf if they lose the capacity to make those decisions themselves. Unlike a Registered Supporter role, an EPOA is created under state and territory law, not under the Aged Care Act.

There are two main types relevant to aged care:

Financial EPOA: Authorises you to manage your parent's financial affairs — bank accounts, property, investments, bill payments. This is critical for paying aged care fees, managing the means test process, and handling accommodation deposits.

Medical/Personal EPOA (or Enduring Guardian): Authorises you to make healthcare and personal care decisions when your parent cannot. This includes consenting to care plans, choosing between residential facilities, and making end-of-life care decisions. The terminology varies by state — Victoria uses "Medical Treatment Decision Maker," NSW uses "Enduring Guardian," Queensland uses "Advance Health Directive."

An EPOA only activates when your parent loses decision-making capacity, and it must be signed while your parent still has capacity. This is the critical timing issue — once cognitive decline has progressed to the point where capacity is in question, it may be too late to create a valid EPOA.

Why You Likely Need Both

The Registered Supporter role handles the day-to-day navigation of the aged care system while your parent is cognitively well. The EPOA provides a safety net for the future.

Consider this scenario: your parent develops dementia. Without a financial EPOA, you cannot access their bank accounts to pay the basic daily fee ($66.80/day for residential care) or negotiate a Refundable Accommodation Deposit. Without a medical EPOA or guardianship appointment, you cannot legally consent to their care plan or choose a residential facility.

At that point, your only option is applying to your state's civil and administrative tribunal for a guardianship order — a process that typically costs $800 to $2,000 in legal fees, takes weeks to months, and involves a formal hearing.

When to Set Each Up

Registered Supporter: Set this up as soon as you contact My Aged Care. It requires only your parent's verbal or written consent and takes minutes. There's no cost.

EPOA: Set this up as early as possible — ideally before your parent enters the aged care system at all. An EPOA requires your parent to have decision-making capacity at the time of signing, and it should be prepared with a solicitor or through your state's public trustee office. Cost ranges from $330 to $550 for a standalone EPOA, or $800 to $2,000 as part of a broader estate planning package (wills, guardianship, advance care directive).

Every Australian state and territory has different EPOA requirements:

• NSW: Enduring Guardian (personal) + Enduring Power of Attorney (financial), both registered with NSW Registry
• Victoria: Enduring Power of Attorney (financial and personal) + Medical Treatment Decision Maker appointment
• Queensland: Enduring Power of Attorney (financial) + Advance Health Directive (personal/medical)
• South Australia: Enduring Power of Attorney (financial) + Advance Care Directive
• Western Australia: Enduring Power of Attorney (financial) + Enduring Power of Guardianship (personal)
• Tasmania, ACT, NT: Similar structures with state-specific forms and registration requirements

What If Your Parent Has Already Lost Capacity?

If your parent's cognitive decline means they can no longer give informed consent to create an EPOA, the Registered Supporter role alone won't cover the authority gaps. You'll need to apply for a guardianship and/or administration order through your state's tribunal:

• NSW: NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)
• Victoria: Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
• Queensland: Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT)
• Other states: equivalent tribunals exist in each jurisdiction

This process involves filing an application, providing medical evidence of incapacity, and attending a hearing. It's slower, more expensive, and more intrusive than an EPOA — which is exactly why establishing the EPOA early matters.

Take Action Before It Becomes Urgent

The families who navigate aged care most smoothly are those who sort out legal authority well before a health crisis forces the issue. An EPOA prepared calmly at the kitchen table is infinitely easier than a guardianship application filed from a hospital corridor.

The My Aged Care and ACAT Assessment Guide includes a chapter on establishing legal authority for aged care, with a state-by-state EPOA checklist and guidance on when and how to set up the Registered Supporter role alongside formal legal instruments.

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