Empowering futures: a report on enduring powers of attorney (2024)

Overview

A financial enduring power of attorney (FEPOA) is a legal instrument that allows an adult person to appoint another adult person(s) to make certain financial and/or asset decisions on their behalf, including if they become unable to make decisions themselves in the future. 

In February 2024, an online survey of more than 3,000 Australian adults was conducted to understand current levels of awareness and use of FEPOAs in Australia, what Australians did or did not know about these documents and to provide insights about the education needs and preferences of Australians.

This report outlines the Australian Human Rights Commission’s key findings and makes three recommendations.

Key findings

Among the report’s key findings:

• Only half of people with an FEPOA (52%) sought professional advice before creating one, and just a quarter (25%) of those currently acting as appointed decision-makers felt they understood their responsibilities very well when they started their role.  
• Concerningly, two in five (37%) had granted an FEPOA to someone who showed characteristics identified as risk factors for perpetrating elder abuse. 
• Very few Australians (6%) felt they knew a lot about FEPOAs, while more than a third (35%) felt they knew nothing despite some of them being involved in the process in some way. 
• Australians overwhelmingly (85%) agreed that more education was needed on FEPOAs. Having information that is standardised across the entire country was identified as a top need (93%). 

Recommendations

The report makes three recommendations.

In its major recommendation, the report calls on the Federal, State and Territory governments to urgently implement reforms to achieve national consistency in laws governing FEPOAs across jurisdictions - a necessary precursor to enabling a coherent approach to filling the knowledge and education gaps identified in the research. 

The report also emphasises the need for greater community awareness and standardised education about FEPOAs as legal instruments for future planning.