Advance care planning allows you to make decisions about the health care you would or would not like to receive if you were seriously ill and unable to make or communicate treatment preferences.

We have many resources available for patients to help you understand the process of advance care planning, as well as information that is available in languages other than English.

VIDS Nurse Cath caring for patient with COVID-19
Nurse Cath caring for patient with COVID-19

What is advance care planning? 

Advance care planning is defined as a "process of planning for future health and personal care whereby the person's values, beliefs and preferences are made known so that they can guide decision making at a future time when that person cannot make or communicate his or her decisions" (The Clinical, Technical and Ethical Principal Committee of the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council (CTEPC), September 2011. A National Framework for Advance Care Directives.)

It is a process of patients deciding what is important to them and writing it down. This helps ensure that if patients are too unwell to speak for themselves, their loved ones and health professionals will be able to make decisions that are right for the patient.

There are three aspects to advance care planning:

  1. Appoint another person. Patients can choose to appoint a Medical Treatment Decision Maker. Any previously appointed Medical Enduring Power of Attorney will continue as the appointed Medical Treatment Decision Maker.
  2. Communication between the person, their Medical Treatment Decision Maker, family, and their health care team regarding their plans for future care.
  3. Documentation of a person's wishes for future care, via an Advance Care Directive. Documentation of values, beliefs and preferences can provide clarity to the treating medical team.

Advance statements of preference for people with mental illness

Under the Victorian Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022, people living with mental illness are able to record their treatment preferences; in case they become unwell and need compulsory mental health assessment or treatment.

Advance statements of preferences have been developed to improve supported decision-making. A person can make an advance statement of preferences at any time.

A designated mental health service must ensure all reasonable efforts are made to give effect to the statement.

An authorised psychiatrist must have regard to the views and preferences expressed in a patient’s advance statement of preferences when making a treatment decision.

An authorised psychiatrist may only make a treatment decision that is not in accordance with the treatment preferences expressed in a patient’s advance statement of preferences if they are satisfied that the patient’s preferred treatment is either:

  • Not clinically appropriate, or
  • Unable to be provided at the designated mental health service despite all reasonable efforts being made to provide the preferred treatment
Health.vic: Advance statements of preferences
Understand how to make, change, and revoke an advance statement of preferences.
Contact us
Advance Care Planning
Address
The RMH Parkville
300 Grattan St, Parkville, Victoria
Last updated 01 September 2023