What is an advance care directive and when will it be used?

Índice Show

What will it allow me to do?
Why should I have one?
Where to get an Advance Care Directive Form and Kit
When attending an SA Health service
What to know if you are a substitute decision maker
Are Advance Care Directives working for you?
Health professionals
For more information
Advance care directive
Medical treatment decision maker
Support person

Your wishes for future care

An Advance Care Directive is an important step forward in planning for future health care, preferred living arrangements and other personal matters. It replaces the existing Enduring Powers of Guardianship, Medical Powers of Attorney and Anticipatory Directions with a single Advance Care Directive Form. If you have previously completed one of these documents they will continue to have legal effect unless you complete a new Advance Care Directive which will replace your old documents.

For more information please read the Advance Care Directive information brochure (PDF 315KB) or visit the Advance Care Directive website. Translated brochures and information are also available in 15 different languages.

What will it allow me to do?

The new Advance Care Directive allows you to:

write down your wishes, preferences and instructions for your future health care, end of life, living arrangements and personal matters
appoint one or more Substitute Decision-Makers to make these decisions on your behalf, if you are unable to make them for yourself.

Why should I have one?

It will give you peace of mind that those caring for you will know what you want when you are unable to make your own decisions or communicate your wishes and values. This could be for a number of reasons including:

an accident or mental health episode
dementia or a similar condition such as a brain injury
a sudden or serious stroke or
because you are unconscious or in a coma.

This can happen at any stage of life. If it did, how would you want decisions to be made for you about your ongoing health care, living arrangements and other personal matters? And who would you want to make these decisions for you?

View the educational video about Advance Care Directives and Resuscitation Planning below.

Where to get an Advance Care Directive Form and Kit

There are several ways to get the Advance Care Directive Form and DIY Kit:

The Advance Care Directive Form and DIY Kit can be downloaded from the Advance Care Directives website for free. You can also complete your Advance Care Directive online using the online form process.
The Form and Kit can also be purchased from:

If English is your second language, an information statement and brochure is available in 15 languages.

When attending an SA Health service

If you're attending an SA Health service please bring your original Advance Care Directive or a certified copy (PDF 58KB) with you. You will be asked by SA Health staff if you have an Advance Care Directive, Substitute Decision-Maker or Person Responsible when you are a patient at an SA Health hospital. Information on Substitute Decision-Makers and Person Responsible can be found in the Help Us Help You flyer (PDF 115KB).

What to know if you are a substitute decision maker

The Decision-making pathway for substitute decision makers (PDF 539KB) is a guide for those who are making decisions for a person who has given an Advance Care Directive. This guide includes:

how to work out if the person is able to make a decision
steps on how to make appropriate health care decisions
steps on how to make appropriate living arrangements and other personal decisions

Are Advance Care Directives working for you?

The operation of the Advance Care Directives Act 2013 was reviewed by independent Professor Wendy Lacey to ensure that the Act is working well for South Australians, and consultation closed on Friday 24 May 2019. We thank everyone who contributed, and Professor Lacey's independent Report on the Review of the Advance Care Directives Act 2013 (SA) (PDF 1MB) is now available.

The State Government's response (PDF 135KB) to the independent Report was tabled in Parliament on 23 July 2020.

Health professionals

For health professionals, please visit the Advance Care Directives for health professionals page for more information.

For more information

The Advance Care Directive website has additional information, fact sheets, resources and links to help you complete your own Advance Care Directive Form.

The Legal Services Commission can give you advice and witness your Advance Care Directive Form. Phone 1300 366 424 or visit the Legal Services Commission website.

For more information about planning ahead for your future finances, Wills and/or organ donation, visit the Planning Ahead web page.

The Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 enshrines advance care directives in Victorian law and creates clear obligations for health practitioners caring for people who do not have decision-making capacity.

To give Victorians confidence that their decisions about medical treatment will be respected, the Department of Health and Human Services has created the standard forms below, which allow Victorians to:

Make an advance care directive which can include an instructional directive (which will provide specific directives about treatment a person consents to or refuses) and/or a values directive (which will describe a person's views and values).
Appoint a medical treatment decision maker (who will make decisions on behalf of a person when they no longer have decision making capacity).
Appoint a support person (who will assist a person to make decisions for themselves, by collecting and interpreting information or assisting the person to communicate their decisions).

All forms under the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 are available to download free of charge and may be completed without seeking legal advice or assistance.

For further information on advance care planning, please visit the Better Health Channel .

Additional resources for health practitioners can be found elsewhere in health.vic's Advance Care Planning section.

Advance care directive

Advance care directive for adults: this document allows an adult to document their preferences for future medical treatment, should they lose decision-making capacity. A person can record general statements about their values and preferences to guide future medical treatment decisions, or record instructions consenting to or refusing specific types of treatment.

Instructions for completing the Advance care directive form: these instructions providing additional guidance and information to assist in completing the Advance care directive for adults form.

Advance care directive for adults for someone signing on your behalf: use this form if you need someone to fill in and sign an advance care directive for you, at your direction. This document allows an adult to document their preferences for future medical treatment, should they lose decision-making capacity. A person can record general statements about their values and preferences to guide future medical treatment decisions, or record instructions consenting to or refusing specific types of treatment.

Revocation of an advance care directive form: use this form to revoke a previously completed advance care directive.

Medical treatment decision maker

Appointment of medical treatment decision maker form: this document allows you to formally appoint a medical treatment decision maker, who will have legal authority to make medical treatment decisions on your behalf, should you become unable to do so.

Checklist of steps for appointing your medical treatment decision maker: this checklist provides additional guidance and information to help you appoint your medical treatment decision maker.

Appointment of medical treatment decision maker form (long): use this document if you wish to formally appoint multiple medical treatment decision makers, who will have legal authority (in order of appointment based on availability at the time), to make medical treatment decisions on your behalf, should you become unable to do so.

Appointment of medical treatment decision maker for someone signing on your behalf: use this document if you need someone to fill in and sign an appointment of medical treatment decision maker form for you, at your direction. This document allows you to formally appoint a medical treatment decision maker, who will have legal authority to make medical treatment decisions on your behalf, should you become unable to do so.

Revocation of medical treatment decision maker form: use this form to revoke your appointment of a medical treatment decision maker.

Resignation of medical treatment decision maker form: use this form to resign from being a person's appointed medical treatment decision maker.

Support person

Appointment of support person form: this form allows you to appoint a support person to assist you to make, communicate and give effect to your medical treatment decisions.

Checklist of steps for appointing your support person (medical treatment): this checklist provides additional guidance and information to help you appoint your support person.

Appointment of support person for someone signing on your behalf: use this document if you need someone to fill in and sign an appointment of support person form for you, at your direction. This form allows you to appoint a support person to assist you to make, communicate and give effect to your medical treatment decisions.

Revocation of support person form: use this form to revoke your appointment of a support person (medical treatment).

Resignation of support person form: use this form to resign from being a person's appointed support person (medical treatment).

All forms under the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 are available to download free of charge and may be completed without seeking legal advice or assistance.

The documents are accessible (tagged) PDF format, including the forms. All forms may be completed electronically (on screen), except for the signing and witnessing sections, which must be completed by hand after printing.

If you intend to complete a form electronically prior to printing, we recommend that you use Adobe PDF Reader. Adobe PDF Reader also generally works well with assistive technologies. Download the Adobe PDF Reader from the Adobe website.

Please note that other PDF readers, such as Mac Preview, may allow electronic form completion but may not print correctly, making the completed form unusable.