FACTSHEET FOR
INDIVIDUALS
What is advance care planning?
Advance care planning involves planning for your future health care. It enables you to make some decisions now
about the health care you would or would not like to receive if you were unable to communicate your preferences
or make treatment decisions. This might happen aer an accident, due to illness or near the end of your life.
Benets for you and the people close
to you
Advance care planning:
n helps to ensure your preferences and values about
health care are known and respected if you are too
unwell to speak for yourself
n assists those who are close to you. Families of those
who have done advance care planning have less
anxiety and stress when asked to make important
health care decisions for other people
1
.
Wring your preferences down in an advance care
direcve allows you to say what you would want.
This can give peace of mind to you and comfort to
others as preferences are clear, understood and more
readily respected.
Be open
n Think about your values, beliefs and preferences
for current and future health care.
n Decide who you would like to speak for you if
you become very sick and are not able to speak
for yourself. Ask them if they are prepared to be
your substute decision-maker. (See ‘The law and
advance care planning’ overleaf.)
Ideally, they need to be:
n available (live close by in the same region)
n over the age of 18 years
n prepared to speak on your behalf and make the
decisions you would make when required by
doctors, other health professionals and family
members.
Depending on your state/territory, you may be able to
appoint more than one substute decision-maker.
Be ready
n Talk about your values, beliefs and preferences
with your substute decision-maker and other
people involved in your care such as family,
friends, carers and doctors.
n Write your plan and/or appoint your substute
decision-maker. See advancecareplanning.org.
au/create-your-plan and nd the forms for your
state or territory. Your doctor or other health
professional can support you to write down
your choices. You can also contact the Naonal
Advance Care Planning Support Service for free
advice and printed forms.
More informaon: advancecareplanning.org.au
What do you need to do?
1. Detering KM, Hancock AD, Reade MC and Silvester W, The impact of
advance care planning on end of life care in elderly paents: randomised
controlled trial, BMJ. 2010; 340: c1345.
Everyone should consider advance care planning,
regardless of their age or health. If you become
seriously ill or injured, and you haven’t documented
your preferences or idened a substute decision-
maker, doctors will consider treatments based on their
assessment of your best interests. This may include
treatments and treatment outcomes that you would
not want.
In these situaons, doctors may ask someone you are
close to, like a family member, for their opinions about
your medical treatments and care. This can be very
hard for them if they don’t know your preferences.
Advance care planning gives you the chance to:
n talk to your family, friends and doctors about how
you would like to be cared for in the future
n write down your own preferences for care and
medical treatments in an advance care direcve
(see ‘the law and advance care planning’ overleaf)
n choose who you would like to make medical
treatment and care decisions for you.
Advance Care Planning Australia
TM
is funded by the Australian Government.
© Advance Care Planning Australia. December 2022.
This publicaon is general in nature and people should seek appropriate professional advice about their specic circumstances, including advance care
planning legislaon in their state or territory.