Throughout your life there may be circumstances when you wish to grant access to an account or authorise someone to manage your financial affairs on your behalf. Alternatively, you may be helping a loved one who is no longer physically or legally capable of making their own financial decisions.
The reasons can be complex and varied, but may include:
Keep in mind that authorising access to your money and financial affairs increases your exposure to the risk of financial abuse and fraud. For more on financial abuse and the signs to look out for, as well as who to contact if you feel you’ve been a victim of financial abuse, please see the guides found in Tools & Support.
It’s important that you only give authority to someone you trust and who will look out for your best interests.
Make sure you seek advice when exploring an authority over your accounts or financial affairs as there are different options and considerations. You’ll need to understand what is right for you and your circumstances.
A third party authority gives another person or persons access to one or more of your bank accounts. It’s arranged directly by visiting a CommBank branch and allows the authorised person(s) to transact on your nominated bank accounts.
You can only authorise access to your accounts if you fully understand the nature and implication of the authority you’re giving.
A third party authority can be given to allow someone you trust to manage day-to-day banking transactions on your behalf such as:
There are some limitations and risks to consider when giving someone access to your accounts:
A power of attorney is a formal document where a person, known as the principal or donor, gives the legal authority to someone to look after their financial affairs. This authority ceases should the principal/donor pass away.
You can only appoint an attorney if you fully understand what you’re getting into and are capable of making your own decisions.
There are two types of power of attorney:
A general power of attorney allows you to appoint one or more people (attorneys) to make legally binding decisions on your behalf.
The authority will be revoked if you’re no longer legally capable to manage your financial affairs.
A general power of attorney may be useful if you wish to put a temporary formal arrangement for a specific purpose such as:
An enduring power of attorney allows you to appoint one or more people to make legally binding decisions on your behalf, and your appointed attorney can continue making financial decisions on your behalf even once you are no longer legally capable to manage your financial affairs.
An enduring power of attorney can also come into effect if you become legally incapable of making your own decisions.
An enduring power of attorney should be used to put a lasting formal arrangement in place, including:
If you don’t have an enduring power of attorney in place and you lose capacity to make and communicate decisions for yourself, the chance to appoint someone yourself no longer exists and a financial management order will be required.
There are some limitations and risks to consider with powers of attorney:
The power of attorney should be brought into a branch, along with anyone you want to give authority to. We’ll ask you to complete some additional paperwork in branch.
An application for a financial management order is usually made by someone with a genuine concern for the welfare of a person (known legally as a “protected person”) who is unable to manage their own financial affairs. In most cases this is a family member, friend, social worker or healthcare professional. In some states and territories, this is also known as an administration order.
A financial manager is then appointed to manage the person’s finances, and they may have limited or no access to their own account while a financial management order is in place.
Financial management orders are generally appointed by a tribunal. The appointed person:
Lodging a financial management order will automatically revoke any existing third party authority and power of attorney the account holder has previously authorised.
The financial management order must be brought into a branch. You may need to complete some additional paperwork while you’re in the branch.
Normally the appointed financial manager is setting up the financial management order on behalf of the account holder, so the account holder won’t need to attend the branch.
The information provided here is general only – each state and territory has different applications for powers of attorney and financial management orders. There are a range of external support services available that can help you understand and make decisions in relation to authorities and managing your financial affairs in your state or territory.
This information is general guidance only. There are some other authorities available only in certain states (e.g. Victoria).
