Choose an Enduring Guardian

You should choose someone you trust such as a spouse, family member or friend.

If you don't have an Enduring Guardian and decisions need to be made on your behalf, a court or tribunal may need to appoint someone to make decisions for you. This is called a Guardianship Order.

It is essential the person you appoint:

• is willing to take on the role
• can make decisions in difficult and emotional circumstances
• understands your needs, wishes, values and beliefs
• is easy to contact when decisions need to be made
• understands they won’t be paid to undertake this role.

Who can't be an Enduring Guardian

• You can't appoint someone who, in a professional or administrative capacity, is responsible for or involved in providing you with medical services, accommodation or any other services to support you in your activities of daily living for fee or reward. (Note: if your family member or friend acts as your carer and is in receipt of the Centrelink carer payment, this does not prevent them from being appointed as your Enduring Guardian).
• You can't appoint either the Public Guardian or NSW Trustee and Guardian as your Enduring Guardian.

There may be a time in your life when you need someone to make important decisions for you. This could be due to a temporary or permanent loss of decision-making ability from illness, injury or disability – this can happen at any time in your life.

Your Enduring Guardian only starts making decisions for you when you are unable to.

A doctor or specialist can be called upon if it is uncertain whether your Enduring Guardian should start making decisions. The appointment continues for as long as you need it unless:

• you revoke or cancel it while you have mental capacity to do so
• your Enduring Guardian resigns from the role, dies or is unable to carry out the role
• the appointment is changed or revoked by the Guardianship Division of NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) or the NSW Supreme Court.

You can provide information to help your Enduring Guardian know how they should use their authority.

For example, you might direct them to seek advice from your doctor or medical specialists before they make certain decisions.

It’s important to remember that directions or limits should be applied thoughtfully as they can remove flexibility in decision making.

Your Enduring Guardian only makes decisions in the areas you choose, including:

• where you live and the services you might receive
• healthcare, medical and dental treatment you receive.

They can also:

• apply for extra decision-making authority if circumstances are more complex or you need extra support
• consult on decisions during your end-of-life stage and advance care plans.

They can't make decisions about:

• your money
• who you vote for
• marriage on your behalf
• anything that is against the law
• saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to special treatments, such as those that will prevent you having children, terminating a pregnancy, restrictive practices (unless specifically authorised in the Enduring Guardian document), or new treatments that have not yet been reviewed by medical industry experts.
• making or changing your advance care directive and making or changing your Will.

You can also make an Advance Care Directive. This is a separate document to help inform what lifestyle and health decisions are to be followed should you not have capacity to make them for yourself.

You can appoint more than one Enduring Guardian, but you need to outline how you want them to make decisions – together (jointly), separately (severally) or both of these (jointly and severally).

You can appoint another person as a substitute Enduring Guardian who only makes decisions for you if your original guardian is no longer able to.

If you have not appointed a substitute, you no longer have capacity and your Enduring Guardian is no longer able to make decisions for you, anyone concerned for your welfare can make an application to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to decide who your guardian should be.