Power of Attorney in Queensland: General and Enduring, Forms, Witnesses and Duties

By James Stevens, Director and Solicitor, Go To Court Lawyers. Last reviewed 14 April 2026.

In Queensland, a general power of attorney lets someone make financial decisions for you and ends if you lose capacity, while an enduring power of attorney can cover financial, personal and health matters and continues if you lose capacity. To make an enduring power of attorney you must be 18 or older and have capacity, use the free Form 2 or Form 3, and sign it in front of a JP, commissioner for declarations, lawyer or notary public.

Checked on 23 October 2026 against the Queensland Government's powers of attorney pages and the Powers of Attorney Act 1998 (Qld).

General and enduring powers of attorney

A power of attorney is a legal document in which you (the principal) appoint someone you trust (your attorney) to make decisions for you. Queensland has two kinds under the Powers of Attorney Act 1998:

The forms are free to download from the Queensland Government. An advance health directive, for instructions about your future health care, is a separate document.

Making an enduring power of attorney

• Who can make one: you must be 18 or older and have capacity, which means you can make it freely and voluntarily and you understand its nature and effect, including when the power begins, that the attorney will have full control of those matters, and that you can revoke it while you have capacity.
• Choosing the form: use the Short Form to appoint attorneys for personal matters only, for financial matters only, or the same attorneys for both. Use the Long Form to appoint different attorneys for personal and financial matters.
• Signing: sign in front of an eligible witness (a JP, commissioner for declarations, lawyer or notary public), who must be present, must certify that you appeared to understand the document, and must make sure you are signing voluntarily.
• Attorney acceptance: each attorney must sign to accept the appointment before they can make any decision.
• Land: before an attorney can deal with land in Queensland, the power of attorney must be registered with the Titles Registry (Form 16, with a certified copy). A registered document can be searched by the public. See registering a power of attorney.
• Copies: keep the original safe and give certified copies (certified by a JP, commissioner for declarations, lawyer or notary public) to your attorneys, doctor, bank and lawyer.

Choosing your attorney

• Who can be an attorney: an adult with capacity for the decisions they are appointed for, who is not your paid carer (now or in the past 3 years), your health provider, or a service provider for a residential service where you live, and, for financial matters, not bankrupt.
• More than one: you can appoint several attorneys and decide whether they act jointly, severally, by majority, one after another, or as alternatives. No more than 4 can be appointed to act jointly (agreeing on every decision).
• No one suitable: you can appoint the Public Guardian for personal and health matters, and the Public Trustee or a trustee company for financial matters.
• Choose carefully: the Queensland Government warns that some attorneys mismanage the role, for example by using the principal's money for their own expenses.

What an attorney can do, and their duties

• Personal and health decisions: an attorney can make these only when you do not have capacity to make them.
• Financial decisions: from the time or circumstances stated in the document; if none is stated, from the day it is made.
• Duties: an attorney must act honestly and with reasonable diligence to protect your interests (maximum penalty 200 penalty units), follow the terms of the document, consider your views, wishes and preferences, and apply the general principles of Queensland's guardianship laws.
• If an attorney does the wrong thing: the Public Guardian can investigate, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) can remove them, and QCAT or the Supreme Court can order them to compensate you or your estate, or to account for profits.
• Resigning: an attorney can resign by written notice if you have capacity to make a new enduring power of attorney; otherwise they need permission from QCAT or the Supreme Court.

Ending a power of attorney

• Revoking it: you can end an enduring power of attorney at any time while you have capacity, using the Revocation of enduring power of attorney form (Form 6), and you must take reasonable steps to tell all your attorneys. If it was registered with the Titles Registry, register the revocation too.
• It also ends if you make a later inconsistent enduring power of attorney, or when you die.
• Marriage or civil partnership: unless the document says otherwise, getting married or entering a civil partnership automatically revokes it to the extent it gives power to someone other than your spouse or civil partner.
• A general power of attorney ends when you cancel it, which you can do at any time, or if you lose capacity to make financial decisions.
• No enduring power of attorney? If you lose capacity without one, QCAT may need to appoint a guardian or administrator to make decisions for you.

Free help in Queensland

How Go To Court Lawyers can help

Our free line, 1800 577 015, answers at any hour. Jen, our AI legal information assistant, gives general legal information and takes your details; Jen is not a lawyer and does not give advice about your case. A 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in Queensland is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person where the lawyer offers it. The lawyer can advise on whether you need a general or enduring power of attorney, help you fill in and sign it correctly, and act if an attorney is misusing their power or a family member disputes a decision. Requests are taken at any hour; how soon a lawyer can see you depends on who is available. Request a $295 consultation.

General information only, not legal advice. Updated 23 October 2026. Checked against the Queensland Government's pages on understanding enduring powers of attorney, making and ending an enduring power of attorney (updated 18 August 2026), understanding general powers of attorney (updated 4 August 2026), making and ending a general power of attorney, and information for attorneys (updated 10 August 2026), and the Powers of Attorney Act 1998 (Qld) (current as at 28 April 2026), sections 41 and 66, on 23 October 2026.