POWER OF ATTORNEY

A power of attorney is a legal document that authorises a trusted person to make financial and legal decisions on behalf of another. 

A general power of attorney is usually limited to specific purposes, for a specific task or for a certain period of time. For example, a member may need a legal document to be signed while they are on holiday or deployed, or they may want someone to buy property on their behalf.

A general power of attorney ends when:

• it is cancelled;
• the person who made it dies or becomes mentally incompetent;
• the person who made it becomes bankrupt; or
• the expiry date that is written on the document has passed.

An enduring power of attorney is a legal document that appoints a trusted person to make financial and legal decisions on behalf of another person. The main difference between an enduring and a general power of attorney is that an enduring power of attorney is valid even if the person who made it becomes mentally incompetent. For this reason, an enduring power of attorney is often used as a precaution for unexpected events.

An enduring power of attorney will last until:

• it is cancelled by the person who made it (they must be mentally competent to do so);
• the member who made it dies or becomes bankrupt;
• the attorney dies or can no longer act as the person's attorney; or
• it is cancelled by the Supreme Court who is satisfied that it is not in the maker's best interest.

You may need someone to manage  your legal or financial affairs on your behalf, such as in the case of an accident, sudden illness, planned or unexpected absence.

Essentially, you can give the power of attorney a broader range of authority to act on your behalf in relation to your legal or financial affairs. An authority to operate allows you to instruct a person to operate on your savings or term deposit accounts. There are certain things that the third party can and cannot do in relation to the accounts over which they have authority to operate.

To set up your power of attorney to operate on your Australian Military Bank accounts, we will need to:

• open a membership for the attorney if they are not already a member of Australian Military Bank;
• have you complete a Third Party Authority to Operate form; and
• staff will need to sight the original or a certified copy of the power of attorney document.

If you wish to apply for a loan product under the Power of Attorney, you will need to register the Power of Attorney with your relevant State or Territory land titles office before providing the power of attorney document to Australian Military Bank.

Contact your State or Territory Public Trustee's office, Public Advocate or visit their websites for further information about drafting, appointing or cancelling a power of attorney.