Planning for the future isn’t just about your finances, it’s also about ensuring your personal and health decisions are made by someone you trust if you’re unable to make them yourself.
An Enduring Guardianship is an important legal document that allows you to appoint a person to make lifestyle and medical decisions on your behalf if you lose capacity.
What is an Enduring Guardian?
An Enduring Guardian is someone you legally appoint to make personal decisions for you if you are unable to do so due to illness, injury, or loss of capacity.
These decisions may include:
Medical and dental treatment
Living arrangements (e.g. aged care or support services)
Healthcare and general lifestyle decisions
What does “loss of capacity” mean?
Capacity refers to your ability to make and understand decisions.
If you lose capacity, whether temporarily or permanently, you may no longer be able to make informed choices about your health or living arrangements. This is when your Enduring Guardian steps in.
What decisions can an Enduring Guardian make?
Your Enduring Guardian can only make decisions about personal and lifestyle matters, not financial or legal matters.
This may include:
Consenting to or refusing medical treatment
Deciding where you live
Accessing support services
What is the difference between an Enduring Guardian and a Power of Attorney?
This is a common area of confusion:
Enduring Guardianship → Personal, lifestyle and medical decisions
Enduring Power of Attorney → Financial and legal decisions
Both documents are important and often prepared together as part of a comprehensive estate plan.
Why is an Enduring Guardianship important?
Without an Enduring Guardian:
Your family may need to apply to a tribunal to make decisions for you
There may be delays in urgent medical decisions
Disagreements between family members can arise
Appointing an Enduring Guardian ensures:
Your wishes are respected
Decisions are made by someone you trust
Your loved ones avoid unnecessary stress and legal processes
When should you put one in place?
You should consider putting an Enduring Guardianship in place:
As part of your estate planning
When purchasing property or updating your Will
At any stage of adulthood, not just later in life
Can you choose more than one guardian?
Yes, you can appoint:
More than one Enduring Guardian
Substitute guardians if your first choice is unable to act
It’s important to choose people you trust and who understand your values.
How We Can Help
At Freshwater Legal, we assist clients across the Northern Beaches and Greater Sydney Area with preparing Enduring Guardianships as part of a complete estate planning strategy. We ensure your documents are legally compliant under NSW law and tailored to your personal wishes.
This article provides general information and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Government schemes, eligibility requirements and legal obligations may change. Advice should be obtained based on your individual circumstances.