Average Waiting Time Required for Registration of Lasting Power of Attorney

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the average waiting time required for the registration of a Lasting Power of Attorney by the Office of the Public Guardian from submission until notification of successful registration; (b) what are the reasons for the waiting time required; and (c) whether the Ministry has any plans to reduce the waiting time.

The average waiting time required to register the Lasting Power of Attorneys (LPAs) received in June 2018 is approximately 60 working days. This includes the mandatory six weeks' waiting period required under the law.

Applications to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) to make LPAs have doubled, from an average of 950 per month in 2016 to an average of 1,928 per month for the first seven months in 2018. OPG has increased its resources to handle the rise in applications, and the waiting time has shortened. Currently, LPAs can only be made in hardcopy, which requires manual processing. This impacts efficiency. OPG is undertaking a Business Process Re-engineering study, with a view towards developing an online, more citizen-centric LPA system, which should cut down processing time.