If you can no longer decide for yourself, your enduring guardian decides about your health, where you live and your care. Since 1 September 2026, anyone making or reviewing an Appointment of Enduring Guardian in NSW faces one more question. Should your guardian be able to consent to, or refuse, the use of restrictive practices?
This is not a technical amendment. It asks how decisions should be made if keeping you safe one day means restricting your freedom or independence. Our usual advice is to give the function to a guardian you trust and use the form’s directions to say how it is exercised.
NSW has added restrictive practices to the enduring guardian form
The NSW Guardianship Regulation 2026 introduced a new prescribed Appointment of Enduring Guardian form from 1 September 2026. The form expressly lets you authorise your enduring guardian to consent to, or withhold consent to, a restrictive practice. That is any practice or intervention that restricts your rights or freedom of movement.
A restrictive practice can be a locked memory-support unit, or medication used mainly to influence behaviour rather than treat a diagnosed condition. It can also be a device or force that restricts movement, or seclusion in a room you cannot leave.
The express authority matters because a general power over health care, accommodation or medical treatment may not be sufficient to cover restrictive practices. Without that authority, an application to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) may be required once you have lost capacity.
Giving your guardian the function works as a safeguard
It may seem instinctive to refuse the function because you do not want your freedom restricted. Excluding it, however, does not necessarily prevent a restrictive practice from being proposed. It may instead mean that your chosen guardian has no legal authority to deal with the proposal. A care provider, health professional or family member may then need to apply to NCAT for a guardian who has the function. The Tribunal may appoint a family member, but can appoint the NSW Public Guardian if no private person is suitable or able to act.
Giving the function is not advance consent to a particular restraint. It gives your guardian authority to consider a proposal and decide whether to consent or refuse if it arises. Restrictive practices in residential aged care are closely regulated. They should only be used as a last resort to prevent harm, after less restrictive alternatives have been considered and tried. They should take the least restrictive form for the shortest necessary time, with informed consent, planning, monitoring and review. Your guardian’s consent is one part of that framework, and the provider must also meet its own legal and professional obligations.
Given to someone you trust, the function lets that person question the proposal, obtain clinical advice, insist on alternatives and refuse unnecessary ones. The function then operates as a safeguard, rather than as permission to impose restraints.
The person you appoint may one day be asked whether a locked door, or a sedating medication, is the right way to keep you safe. Whether that decision rests with someone who knows you, or with a tribunal and a public official, depends on what your document says today.
You can tell your guardian how to use it
The prescribed form lets you place limits on your guardian’s authority and give directions about how their functions must be exercised. You might direct your guardian to:
- give significant weight to your independence, dignity and freedom of movement, and to your wishes even if your ability to communicate has changed;
- regard restrictive practices as a last resort, and trial less restrictive alternatives first with appropriate clinical advice;
- consent only where there is a material risk of harm to you or others, choosing the least restrictive option for the shortest practicable period; and
- ensure that any restriction is regularly reviewed and discontinued when no longer necessary.
Care is needed here: an absolute prohibition may not accommodate an unforeseen emergency or a significant change in your health. It may leave your guardian unable to approve an intervention that is genuinely necessary. A carefully expressed direction protects your autonomy while letting your guardian respond to circumstances nobody can predict.
If your appointment was signed on the old form, or you are not sure which functions it gives, this is the moment to check. Call us on1300 654 590 or email wehelp@adlvlaw.com.au for an obligation-free discussion.
An appointment made before 1 September 2026 may need a review
An appointment made before 1 September 2026 does not automatically become invalid because the form has changed. But an older document may not expressly give your guardian authority over restrictive practices, so a review is worthwhile if:
- you have been diagnosed with dementia or another condition that may affect decision-making;
- you are considering residential aged care, or medication may be used to manage changes in behaviour;
- there is disagreement within your family about your future care; or
- the people you appointed are no longer who you would choose.
Your Will only operates after your death. Your Enduring Power of Attorney and Appointment of Enduring Guardian decide who can act for you, and how, during your lifetime. If you live outside NSW, your advance care directive or equivalent document can still record your wishes about restrictive practices and who decides.
How we can help
We prepare and review Appointments of Enduring Guardian and advise whether yours gives your guardian the right authority under the current NSW framework. We can review your Enduring Power of Attorney at the same time.
If you’d like to talk through your specific situation, call us on 1300 654 590 or email wehelp@adlvlaw.com.au for an obligation-free discussion. We’ll connect you with a great lawyer who can guide you to the right solution.
The information contained in this post is current at the date of publishing – 26 October 2026