The Court of Appeal held that the certificate required by s 19(1)(c) of the Powers of Attorney Act 2003 (NSW) must be given contemporaneously with the principal's execution of the instrument, and cannot be provided or amended after the fact. However, where a certificate omits a prescribed statement (here, the s 19(1)(c)(iv) statement that the witness is not an attorney under the power), the instrument may be rectified in equity if clear and convincing proof establishes that all parties shared a common intention to create an enduring power of attorney and the omission resulted from common mistake. The Court emphasised that rectification was appropriate on the particular facts but will often not be available to redress failures to comply with the Act's formal requirements.
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