Supportive attorney

Supportive attorney

You can make a supportive attorney appointment if you are aged 18 years or older and have decision-making capacity to do so.

A supportive attorney supports you to make and act on decisions about financial or personal matters but cannot act on decisions about significant financial transactions, such as selling a house. Nor do they have authority to support a person to make and give effect to decisions about medical treatment.

You will need to appoint a medical support person if you want support to make and give effect to decisions about medical treatment.

A supportive attorney appointment does not have effect during any period that you do not have decision making capacity for the matters. 

How to appoint a supportive attorney

1. Choose someone you trust, who respects your rights and independence

You can appoint more than one supportive attorney. If you do, each supportive attorney acts separately.

2. Choose what types of decisions you want support to make

You can give your supportive attorney authority to:

• access, collect or obtain information
• assist you to access, collect or obtain information

from organisations such as banks, Centrelink and utility providers.

You can also give your supportive attorney authority to:

• communicate your decisions
• take any reasonable action to give effect to your decisions.

3. Complete the form

An interactive supportive attorney appointment form has been created by the Department of Justice & Community Safety.

To appoint one supportive attorney use the short form. To appoint more than one, use the long form. Alternatively, find the short version of the form in the OPA booklet  Side by Side. 

Ending and cancelling the appointment

A supportive attorney appointment ends if:

• you revoke (cancels) the appointment
• the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) revokes the power
• you die
• the supportive attorney dies, where you do not have an alternative supportive attorney (a back-up).

Read about how to revoke a supportive attorney appointment. 

Your supportive attorney’s role also ends if:

• they resign
• they are no longer eligible to be your supportive attorney
• they no longer have the decision-making capacity to support you or
• VCAT revokes their appointment.

Medical support person

Medical support person

A person (including a child who has decision-making capacity) can appoint another person as their medical support [erson. The role of a support person is to help you make, communicate and act on your medical treatment decisions.

Representing your interests

The support person can also represent your interests in relation to your medical treatment. For example, you might tell them what you want, or do not want, and they may help you talk to your doctors, nurses, and other health practitioners about this.

They can do this even if you become so unwell that you are not able to make your own decisions at the time.

However, your support person does not have power to make medical treatment decisions for you, unless they are also your medical treatment decision maker.

Accessing your health information

Your support person has authority to access (get) your health information to help you make a decision. For example, they could access information from your medical records. They can only access the same information that you are able to access.

The form

To appoint a support person, complete the 'Appointment of a support person' form available from the Health Victoria website (link in the 'Support person forms' box on the right) or in the Side by Side booklet.

Plan nominee

Plan nominee 

A plan nominee is someone appointed in writing at the request of a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant or on the initiative of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), to act on behalf of someone participating in the NDIS.

A plan nominee has a duty to: ascertain the wishes of the participant; act in a manner that promotes the personal and social wellbeing of the participant; only act if the participant is not capable of doing the act; develop the capacity of the participant; and avoid or manage conflicts of interest.

For more information on the plan nominee rules, see the operational guideline on the NDIS website.

Nominated person

Nominated person

A nominated person is chosen by a mental health consumer (person receiving mental health services) to represent their interests and be a support in the event that they  become a patient under  the Mental Health  Act.

The role of a nominated person is to:

• provide the patient with support and help represent their interests
• receive information about the patient in accordance with the Act
• be one of the people who must  be consulted in accordance with the Act about  the patient's treatment
• assist  the patient to exercise any right  they have under the Act
• undertake the role until the nomination is withdrawn by the consumer.

A person who is nominated by a consumer may refuse if they do not want to undertake the role.

For more information about the role of the nominated person, visit the Mental Health Advocacy Service website.  

More information

For more information about suported decision-making in Victoria, examples and best practice, see Supported decision-making in Victoria: a guide for families and carers.