Plan your end-of-life care (advance care planning)
Plan your end-of-life care before you need it. Advance care planning helps your healthcare team and loved ones know your wishes.
If others need to make important medical decisions for you, they can give you the care you want.
About advance care planning
Advance care planning helps you talk about your future health and personal care.
It includes:
- thinking about your values, beliefs and health goals
- choosing someone to speak on your behalf if you can’t
- making sure you have a say in your own healthcare.
The Advance Care Planning in the ACT booklet has information about:
- when an advance care plan is used
- the role of family and carers
- tips for completing the required documents.
The booklet includes the form to complete the Statement of Choices. This is part of an advance care plan.
Making an advance care plan
The ACT Advance Care Planning team can help you make an advance care plan. It includes 3 documents:
- Enduring Power of Attorney – legal authority for someone to make decisions on your behalf
- Statement of Choices – your values, wishes, and treatment preferences
- Health Direction – formal refusal of specific medical treatments.
Enduring Power of Attorney
An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA):
- is a legally binding document
- says who you choose to make your decisions when you can no longer voice these decisions for yourself
- sets out instructions about what they can do on your behalf.
Statement of Choices (competent adults)
Statement of Choices helps when you can’t make your own decisions or tell others what you want. You can use the Statement of Choices form to write down:
- what matters most to you when defining quality of life
- what medical treatments and care you want
- what might be unacceptable.
Health Direction
A Health Direction gives you the right to legally refuse or stop medical treatment at any time. It must be followed as soon as it’s completed.
You can complete a Health Direction if you feel you need to. It’s best to consult with your treating medical doctor to complete it.
Where to keep your advance care planning documents
Upload your documents to MyDHR.
MyDHR is the online patient portal that gives you access to your ACT public health information held on the Digital Health Record (DHR).
Talk to someone about end-of-life care planning
The ACT Advance Care Planning team at Canberra Health Services can help you prepare your advance care plan. This service is free for adults who live in the ACT.
To make an appointment or to speak to someone, call 02 5124 9274 or email acp@act.gov.au.
Community clinics
The ACT Advance Care Planning team also delivers clinics in the community. Call for more information or to make an appointment.
Monday
Weekly clinic at the Canberra Hospital. Call 02 5124 9274.
Weekly clinic at the North Canberra Hospital. Call 02 5124 9274.
Tuesday
Weekly clinic at the Canberra Hospital. Call 02 5124 9274.
Wednesday
Every second month at Parkinson’s ACT in Deakin. Call 1800 644 189.
Quarterly clinic at Dementia Australia in Griffith. Call 02 6255 0722.
Thursday
Weekly clinic at Council on the Ageing (COTA) ACT in Hughes. Call 02 6282 3777.
Weekly clinic at the University of Canberra Hospital. Call 02 5124 9274.