Family support for relative in Australia

March 27, 2018 11:22 PM

I have an elderly overseas relative in Australia. They are not in the best of health with possible memory loss/dementia issues. Not being recognised as family is providing a hurdle for dealing with the situation.

I have an elderly relative who is resident in Australia (I am UK based). They are not in the best of health with possible memory loss/dementia issues. There are no other family members in the country to look after their affairs.

It is very difficult to get medical reports as we cannot seem to get the authorities to recognise family members as being such (not helped by my relative's vague memory state).

The family wants to make sure that this relative will be looked after and comfortable going forward.

At this stage, I am unsure on how to progress matters in order to jump through the necessary hoops to have the family officially recognised.

Any advice from people in similar circumstances would be beneficial. I am considering obtaining legal advice (which will likely be required regardless), but some pointers would be very useful to begin with.

posted by anonymous to Law & Government (3 answers total)

You'll need a lawyer to obtain an Enduring Power of Attorney and a Medical Power of Attorney - see the links on the page for your relevant state. I have no idea if you can do it from a distance, but I strongly doubt it, especially if your relative does not reliably remember you and/or does not want you to have this control. If you gain these authorities, you'll then turn to government sites such as My Aged Care for aged care information.
posted by Thella at 1:27 AM on March 28, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best points of contact would be the relative's general practitioner if at home or social worker in hospital in the case of admission. If your relative is happy to give you something in writing, or agree on the same phone call, to your access to their medical records then this can be noted, along with your contact information, to 'have the family recognised'. Otherwise you can pass on information about your concerns for the relative's cognition.

In terms of legal aspects, does your relative have an Enduring Power of Attorney (blank example forms available on state websites for public trustees, eg NSW), and ideally an advanced healthcare directive (do they want CPR? ICU admission?) and will, and if not will they agree to a visit from a lawyer to arrange the same? Some private lawyers will do home visits; some public trustees will arrange wills and EPOAs in return for managing the estate with associated fees. Do they have plans regarding further care at home or in a nursing home? Have they had an ACAT assessment to determine their Government-funded access to support services at home (which can include cleaning, shopping, cooking, personal care) or in high or low level nursing home care?

How to plan around all the above depends a lot on your relative's willingness to accept your help - please feel free to PM.
posted by quercus23 at 1:30 AM on March 28, 2018

And if their memory impairment has progressed to the point that they are deemed no longer able to make decisions, then they are no longer able to nominate an EPOA and instead someone (IME usually a hospital social worker) applies for guardianship to the relevant state's tribunal, at which point a guardian can be nominated - either family or the Public Trustee.
posted by quercus23 at 1:34 AM on March 28, 2018 [1 favorite]