Using a Victorian Power of Attorney in other Australian States or overseas

Is a Victorian power of attorney enforceable in other Australian states ?

The answer is "probably not", and don't count on it.

 

There is no uniformity of laws relating to powers of attorney throughout Australia.

 

State laws are similar but not identical. Some States still require registration of Powers of Attorney and the payment of stamp duty, and have their own signing requirements.

 

The basic rule is that a power is valid if it was signed in accordance with the laws of the place where it is made, but that rule is of no use if someone in the other State does not recognize the power because it is was not signed in accordance with the requirements of their State.

 

If you want to use a power in another state then it is best to make one in that State so that there is no doubt about it meeting that State's formal requirements.

 

Even if you are using a Power within Victoria we recommend making sure that it will be recognized by particular asset-holders before you actually ask them to act on it. (That is a bad time to hear them say they had some further requirement that you can no longer comply with).

Overseas

The same arguments apply if you want to use a Victorian Power of Attorney overseas. It is possible that a Victorian power will satisfy their formal requirements but you would not rely on it without checking it first.

If there is any doubt it would be best to make a Power that satisfies the requirements of the country in which you want to use it.