Having someone act on your behalf

In most cases, we'll only let someone represent you if you agree to it.

Why have an agent

You can have an agent for any reason. This may be because:

• you're overseas
• you have difficulty communicating
• you have mobility issues that makes it physically hard to go to our offices
• you're sick or unwell
• you're living in residential care or an institution
• you want help or advice with a decision we've made
• you've been served a trespass notice which says you cannot enter our offices.

Who can be your agent

Your agent can be a person or an organisation. They generally need to be 18 or older. They may be able to be an agent if they're under 18, e.g. if they're your partner.

They can be someone like:

• a family member
• someone you trust
• a person or an organisation that cares for you (but not your Youth Service provider if you have one)
• an advocate, or
• a lawyer.

How to find an advocate

There are advocate groups who may be able to help you with an independent advocate who has experience in dealing with us.

A good advocate can:

• help you if you don't understand or disagree with a decision we made
• work with us to make sure you get all the support you're entitled to
• help explain your situation in meetings with us or in a review or appeal process.

You can find an advocate through:

• Citizens Advice Bureau website, or
• Community Law website.

When an agent is appointed for you

There may be cases where an agent is appointed for you, e.g:

• a court may appoint someone as your agent. The court will state what rights and responsibilities they have.
• if someone has your power of attorney or enduring power of attorney.

If the court has appointed someone to help you, you cannot change or cancel their authorisation. Only the court can do that.

You can change or cancel someone's power of attorney but not someone's enduring power of attorney.

Agent appointed without your agreement

In exceptional circumstances, we may allow someone to act as your agent without any legal document. This might be if you're in a coma and need help from us and there isn't time to get a court order.

We would normally need proof that you cannot act for yourself temporarily, e.g. a medical certificate.

In these cases, we'll always act in your best interests.

What your agent can do

You're responsible for deciding what your agent can and cannot do.

You can allow your agent to do things like:

• get personal information we hold about you
• tell us information on your behalf, e.g. change of address or income
• get your mail from us
• complete and sign application forms on your behalf
• have authority over your affairs, as granted by a current Power of Attorney
• be paid part or all of your benefit on your behalf if there's a good reason, e.g.
  • you're sick or unwell and cannot physically withdraw money or manage your finances
  • you're living in residential care or an institution
  • you're misusing your benefit payment and the wellbeing of your family is put at risk.

You can have more than one agent and they can do different things. For example, you may have:

• a family member who fills in forms for you, and
• an advocate who represents you in a dispute with us.

You can still talk to us and act for yourself when you have an agent. You can choose to remove your agent or change what they're allowed to do at any time.

Court order or Power of Attorney

If your agent has been appointed by a court order, the court determines what they can and cannot do on your behalf. The court can also cancel or change this at any time.

If your agent holds an Enduring Power of Attorney, they will have authority over your affairs. They are also able to cancel or change this at any time.

How to appoint an agent

You can verbally agree for someone to act on your behalf when you meet with us or call us, which will only last for that meeting.

If you want someone to be your agent for longer, you'll need to fill out an 'Appointment of Agent' form. You can use the form below or you can have one sent to you by calling 0800 559 009. This will:

• name you and your agent
• show exactly what rights and responsibilities you want your agent to have
• be signed by both you and your agent.

Your agent will also need to show us proof of their identity.

Paying your benefit to an agent

If you want your payments to go to your agent, you'll also need to fill in a 'Redirection of benefit payment' form with them.

• why you need your payments to go to your agent
• what other ways you've tried to organise your payments
• how much of your payments you want to go to your agent.

Your agent will need to show us proof of their bank account details, eg a bank statement or a deposit slip.

Change or remove an agent

If you want to change or remove your agent, you can contact us and let us know. You should also tell your agent what changes you've made.