Acting on someone else's behalf
Whether you are making your own aged care plans or you are acting on behalf of someone else, you should have some important legal arrangements in place.
You will either:
- give permission to someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf in the event that you are no longer able to make decisions yourself
or:
- obtain permission to act and make decisions on another person’s behalf
Many people need to consult a legal practitioner to put the arrangements in place that allow someone else to make certain important decisions on their behalf, should they lose the capacity to make those decisions themselves.
It is important to have thought about this and made the arrangements for substitute decision makers before the need potentially arises.
Some people put these arrangements in place years before they ever think they could need them. Even if you have done that, you should review your documents now in case things have changed.
What is 'capacity'?
We make decisions for ourselves all our adult lives and we expect to continue to make our own decisions, regardless of our age.
But there are some situations and certain kinds of decisions where it may not be possible; particularly if we become unwell. In legal terms, your ability to make important decisions yourself is referred to as your ‘capacity’.
You are considered to have the capacity to make decisions if you can:
- understand the facts involved
- understand the main choices
- weigh up the consequences of the choices
- understand how the consequences affect you
and:
- communicate your decision
It is rare for someone to not have capacity for any decision making at all – usually only if they are unconscious or have a severe cognitive disability.
The kinds of decisions where it is important to have 'capacity are when your health, independence, or financial situation might be put at risk. e.g. you want to have capacity to make a decision about selling your home or having a major medical treatment or operation.
There are several different types of legal representatives you can appoint as your substitute decision makers, depending on what roles and responsibilities you want them to have.
There is some variation in the terms and titles used in different states and territories but the main roles include:
- Enduring guardian
- Enduring power of attorney
- Administrator
- Guardian – public or private
and:
- Nominee
These roles are explained in detail in the next section - 2.3 Your substitute decision makers
If you are acting in a decision making role for someone else who needs aged care, you should ensure you have copies of the relevant documentation proving your legal status.
4 weeks
Time estimate to complete all of the tasks within this step, including all sub-steps.
