How to add a Power of Attorney to act on behalf of an account holder

This article provides information on using an existing Power of Attorney to make enquiries and changes on behalf of an Optus account holder.

Power of Attorney grants the same level of access to the Optus customer's account as the account holder (unless stated otherwise in the document).

For information on more general account access options, see our article on Third Party Authorities.

Note. This Power of Attorney process only applies to Consumer and Sole Trader accounts.

What is a Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that provides authority to act on another person's behalf regarding finances, business, and personal matters.

Types of Power of Attorney

There are two types of powers of attorney:

General Power of Attorney (non-enduring)

A general Power of Attorney allows the account holder to appoint one or more people to make legally binding and financial decisions on their behalf
Unless otherwise specified, a general Power of Attorney ends on a specific date (if a date is included), when it's revoked by the account holder or if the account holder becomes incapacitated

Enduring Power of Attorney

An enduring Power of Attorney allows an account holder to appoint one or more people to make legally binding and financial decisions on their behalf
The account holder can elect for an enduring Power of Attorney to only come into effect or begin after they lose decision-making capacity and become legally incapable of making their own decisions
An enduring Power of Attorney ends when it's revoked or if the account holder passes away

Add a Power of Attorney

For an account holder to add a Power of Attorney to their account, we will need a copy of the Power of Attorney document and valid ID of the nominated Power of Attorney.

The Power of Attorney supporting documentation and relevant account information can be emailed to us directly to PowerofAttorney@optus.com.au.

The following information must be included in the email:

Power of Attorney document (the document can be obtained from relevant State / Territory authority)
Valid ID of nominated Power of Attorney - Photo ID (if available); and - Medicare card and another secondary ID document. See Optus ID requirements
Power of Attorney's details: - Power of Attorney's name and date of birth - Power of Attorney contact mobile number and email address (The email address must be unique and not associated with any other Optus accounts) - Power of Attorney address (if not listed on ID provided)
The relevant Optus account information: - Account holder's name and date of birth - Service or account number

Once we receive the documents, we'll notify the nominated Power of Attorney via SMS within 10 business days.