WA Medical POA – Enduring Power of Guardianship
In Western Australia wo looks after you, when you cannot? The government, retirement home or doctors? Should they control your body? If you trust your family more build a WA Medical POA on our law firm’s website. It can updated for free. It comes with free legal advice for you and the persons you appoint – free advice to the day you die. See a Sample here.
Wife trapped in a Western Australian retirement home?
Our client’s wife was trapped in a high-end aged care facility. She gets Alzheimer’s Disease. Our client wanted to get her out. The retirement home said he had no right to touch or move a person. Not even a wife. He rang me in tears. I told him to go home and get his wife’s Legal Consolidated WA Power of Guardianship. He got it. He took it to the Retirement Home and he got his wife out. There was nothing the retirement home in Perth could do.
Escape a bad WA hospital with an Enduring Power of Guardianship
Our client’s wife was in a hospital. The doctors were ‘behaving like Gods, not doctors’. Our client presented the WA Legal Consolidated WA Power of Guardianship that his wife had built on our law firm’s website. Irrespective of the doctor’s views, he was able to move her to another hospital in Perth. This is where he believed she would receive more appropriate care.
The legal power vested by the WA Power of Guardianship ensured that the transition occurred without opposition from the initial medical team, demonstrating the document’s effectiveness in safeguarding patient rights.
This situation highlights the importance of having a WA Power of Guardianship in navigating healthcare decisions. Such legal tools are vital for families to manage care preferences and advocate effectively for the health needs of their loved ones, particularly in disagreements with healthcare providers. You can build all 4 POAs for you and your spouse as part of the Estate Planning bundle here.
What can an Enduring Power of Guardianship do?
The West Australian Medical POA allows you to appoint loved ones. If you lose mental capacity then they decide your:
- personal lifestyle
- where you live
- medical treatment
But only if you can’t make decisions yourself.
A Western Australian Medical POA is also called:
- WA Enduring Power of Guardianship
- WA Power of Guardianship
- Western Australia Enduring Guardianship
- WA Medical Enduring POA
What decisions can a West Australian enduring guardian make?
With an Enduring Power of Guardianship, a WA enduring guardian makes decisions about:
- where you live, whether permanently or temporarily
- who you will live with
- whether you work
- consent to medical & dental treatment
- protect life or ‘flick the switch when a vegetable’
Restrictions in using a Western Australian Enduring Power of Guardianship
In Western Australia, a Power of Guardianship (officially referred to as an Enduring Power of Guardianship, or EPG) allows a human (the appointor) to nominate another person (the guardian) to make personal, lifestyle, and treatment decisions on their behalf should they become unable to do so due to incapacity.
The 7 limits to a WA Power of Guardianship:
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Scope of Decisions: The guardian makes decisions about the appointor’s health care, accommodation, and general personal affairs. However, the guardian cannot make decisions about financial matters. For financial decisions, you need to also build a Western Australian Enduring Power of Attorney. You can build both types of WA POAs together with the Wills here.
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Financial Restrictions: As mentioned, the guardian does not have the authority to manage the financial or property affairs of the appointor. The appointor grants this power through a second type of WA POA called an Enduring Power of Attorney.
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Medical Treatment: While guardians can make decisions about medical treatment, they cannot consent to certain forms of treatment without additional, specific approval. For example, they cannot consent to sterilisation or experimental health care without a specific order from the Western Australia State Administrative Tribunal.
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Consent to Life-Sustaining Treatment: Decisions regarding the refusal of life-sustaining treatment can be particularly sensitive and usually require adherence to specific legal and medical protocols, including potentially seeking further direction from the State Administrative Tribunal.
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Conflict of Interest: Guardians must act in the best interests of the appointor and avoid any conflicts of interest. They must consider the wishes of the appointor as known to them, and their decisions should reflect what the appointor would have chosen if they were capable.
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Legal Boundaries: The appointment of a guardian does not override other legal processes. For instance, if the individual is under legal custody or if certain aspects of their care are mandated by law, the guardian’s decisions may be limited or require court involvement.
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Duration of Appointment: The guardian’s power comes into effect only when the appointor is deemed incapable of making decisions for themselves by relevant medical professionals and continues only for as long as the appointor is incapacitated.
These restrictions ensure that the Power of Guardianship is used responsibly and that the rights and well-being of the incapacitated individual are protected. Guardians are also subject to oversight and must provide reports on their guardianship, especially in complex or potentially contentious situations, to the State Administrative Tribunal or other designated bodies.
How many Guardians and Substitute Guardians can I have in Western Australia?
A Western Australia Power of Guardianship has 9 variations:
- One Guardian no Sustitute
- One Guardian one Substitute
- One Guardian two Substitutes
- Two Guardians with no Substitute
- Two Guardians with one Substitute
- Two Guardians with two Substitutes
- Three Guardians with no Substitute
- Three Guardians with one Substitute
- Three Guardians with two Substitutes
Unlike a Western Australian Enduring POA, the people you appoint must act together. There is no option to allow them to act separately.stralian Medical POA. Western Australian Medical POA. WA power of guardianship, WA power of guardianship
