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Mental Capacity Act 2008

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act to make new provision relating to persons who lack capacity and to provide for matters connected therewith.

[1 March 2010: Except sections 13(9) and 26(l) ]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act is the Mental Capacity Act 2008.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“appropriate consent” has the meaning given by the Human Biomedical Research Act 2015;

“clinical trial” means a clinical trial within the meaning of the Medicines Act 1975 or the Health Products Act 2007;

“court” means the General Division of the High Court or a Family Court;

“deputy” means a person appointed by the court under section 20(2)(b) to make decisions on behalf of another person (“P”) in relation to a matter or matters concerning all or any of the following in respect of which P lacks capacity:

(a)	P’s personal welfare;
(b)	P’s property and affairs; [Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022]

“donee” means a person who is conferred authority by a donor (“P”) under a lasting power of attorney to make decisions about all or any of the following when P no longer has capacity to make such decisions:

(a)	P’s personal welfare, or matters concerning P’s personal welfare that are specified in the lasting power of attorney;
(b)	P’s property and affairs, or matters concerning P’s property and affairs that are specified in the lasting power of attorney; [Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022]

“donor” means a person (“P”) who confers authority on a donee (or donees) under a lasting power of attorney to make decisions about all or any of the following when P no longer has capacity to make those decisions:

(a)	P’s personal welfare, or matters concerning P’s personal welfare that are specified in the lasting power of attorney;
(b)	P’s property and affairs, or matters concerning P’s property and affairs that are specified in the lasting power of attorney; [Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022]

“electronic”, “electronic record”, “record”, “secure electronic signature”, “signed” and “signature” have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the Electronic Transactions Act 2010^*;

[Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022]

“electronic instrument” means an electronic record that confers authority of the kind mentioned in section 11(1);

[Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022]

“electronic transaction system” means the electronic transaction system established by the Public Guardian under section 10B(1);

[Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022]

“lasting power of attorney” has the meaning given by section 11;

“life-sustaining treatment”, in relation to a person, means treatment which, in the view of another person providing health care for that person, is necessary to sustain life;

“non-electronic lasting power of attorney” means a lasting power of attorney that is created using non-electronic means;

[Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022]

“professional deputy” means a person —

(a)	who offers or provides the services of a deputy for remuneration; and
(b)	who is registered with the Public Guardian as a professional deputy;

“professional donee” means a person —

(a)	who is a professional deputy or is within a class of persons prescribed as qualified to be a professional donee; and
(b)	who offers or provides the services of a donee for remuneration;

“property” includes any thing in action and any interest in real or personal property;

“Public Guardian” means the Public Guardian appointed under section 30(1) and, unless the context otherwise requires, includes any Assistant Public Guardian appointed under section 30(1A);

“registered medical practitioner” means any person who is registered as a medical practitioner under the Medical Registration Act 1997;

“Singapore public sector agency” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018;

[Act 16 of 2021 wef 01/04/2023]

“treatment” includes a diagnostic or other procedure;

“will” includes codicil.

[*Updated to be consistent with the 2020 Revised Edition]

[27/2014; 29/2015; 10/2016; 40/2019]

(2) In this Act, references to making decisions, in relation to a one of a lasting power of attorney or a deputy appointed by the court, include, where appropriate, acting on decisions made.

(3) For the purposes of this Act, a reference to an instrument that confers authority of the kind mentioned in section 11(1) includes an electronic instrument made in accordance with section 11(2)(b)(ii).

[Act 16 of 2021 wef 14/11/2022]