An authorisation is a permission that recognises a relationship between two separate parties. When an authorisation is in place, one party can transact online on behalf of the other party. An authorisation:
- does not replace the power of attorney. If the online service or process requires you to establish a power of attorney please contact the appropriate agency [external link]. Failure to do so may lead to prosecution by the agency involved.
- should not be considered any kind of commercial arrangement, legally binding or otherwise, between two parties. Please ensure that you have appropriate contracts in place before giving access to another party.
An entity is either a business or a person. Businesses and people can act on their behalf.
A representative is either a business or a person who acts on behalf of an entity.
A business is anything which is not a person. A business can be a public or private company, partnership, trust, superannuation fund, sole trader, incorporated association, strata title, co-operative, diplomatic/consulate body or high commission, syndicate (who has an ABN), local government jurisdiction or a state, territory or commonwealth agency or any other type of non-person entity.
A service is an online service or application provided by an agency.
A representative can be invited (“an invitation”) to act on behalf of an entity. The representative must accept the invitation in order to establish the authorisation.
A prospective representative can contact the entity or the government agency which supports the service [external link] and request an invitation. If contacting the agency, the representative may be asked to prove they are authorised to transact on behalf the entity.
Alternatively, a representative can request authority (“an authorisation request”) to act on behalf of a business or volunteer organisation. The authorisation will not exist until the administrator of the business approves the request. For security reasons, representatives cannot request authority to act on behalf of a person. The person or agency must invite the representative.
Need more help?
Further assistance in how to use the WARAM is available from the government agency which supports the service [external link] you are trying to access.
