How to let the people around you know the care you’d want, in case you ever can’t tell them yourself.
Last reviewed · For readers in Australia
In short
It’s a way of letting people know the care you’d want, if you can’t say it yourself.
You don’t need to be ill to do it, and it can start with a conversation.
Free help: Advance Care Planning Australia on 1300 208 582, weekdays.
Advance care planning is a way of letting the people around you know what matters to you about your health care, so that if you’re ever too unwell to say it yourself, they don’t have to guess. It can be as simple as one honest conversation, or as formal as a signed document that doctors must follow. Most people do a bit of both, over time.
You don’t need to be ill to do it. Many people start when they’re well, simply because it’s easier to think clearly about these things on an ordinary day.
What it includes
Advance Care Planning Australia describes three things your planning can do:
record your values and preferences, what matters most to you
give specific instructions to consent to, or refuse, certain medical treatments
appoint a substitute decision-maker, the person you’ve chosen to speak for you
The documents have different names in each state and territory, but they help you do those same things.
Advance care directives
An advance care directive is the formal, written version of your plan. The Australian Government’s health department explains that it’s sometimes called a living will, and that it can hold your values, your preferences for future care and the details of your substitute decision-maker.
Some advance care directives, and forms that appoint a substitute decision-maker, are legally binding. To make one, you need decision-making capacity, meaning you can understand the choices and communicate your decision. Advance Care Planning Australia is clear that these documents only take effect if you can’t make health care decisions yourself. While you can, you decide.
healthdirect points out that you don’t need a lawyer for an advance care directive to be legal, though you may need witnesses when you sign it. Each state has its own forms. In Victoria, for example, the Department of Health publishes an advance care directive that can hold both values and instructions, and a separate form for appointing a medical treatment decision maker.
Advance Care Planning Australia links to the right documents for every state and territory.
Starting with what matters to you
Before any forms, it can help to think about what a good day looks like for you, and what you’d find hard to live with. Some gentle questions to sit with:
What makes your life feel worth living, right now?
If you were very unwell, what would matter most: being at home, being free of pain, having family close, having every treatment that might help?
Are there treatments you’re sure you would or wouldn’t want?
Do you have beliefs, faith or cultural practices you’d want respected?
Who would you trust to speak for you, and do they know what you’d want?
There are no right answers. What you write is simply true for you, and you can change it whenever you like.
Choosing someone to speak for you
The health department suggests your substitute decision-maker should be someone you trust, who’s over 18, who’ll listen to your values and preferences, and who’ll be comfortable making decisions in difficult moments. It suggests asking yourself whether you’re confident this person would decide based on what you would want. You can also name a second person as an alternate.
Their title changes from state to state. To make the appointment formal, you’ll need your state’s form, signed and witnessed as it sets out. Our guide to choosing an enduring power of attorney explains how this role differs from someone who manages your money.
Talking it through
A document is only useful if the people around you know about it and understand it. It helps to talk with:
the person you’ve chosen to speak for you
your family, especially anyone who might disagree
your GP or specialist, who can explain what your health may mean for the decisions ahead
Give copies to your substitute decision-maker, your GP and anyone else who may need it, and keep a note of who has one. healthdirect suggests uploading your documents to your My Health Record, so your doctors can see them if they need to.
Review it when your health or circumstances change, and make sure everyone has the newest version.
If you’d like help
Advance Care Planning Australia runs a free national advisory service on 1300 208 582, weekdays from 8am to 4pm AEST, for help with the documents, choosing a decision-maker and talking with family. It can arrange an interpreter on 131 450.
Each fact in this guide was checked against these official pages on 23 October 2026. Rules and forms change, so please check the source for your own situation.
This is general information, not legal, financial, insurance or medical advice. For your own situation, please speak with a qualified professional or the official body named above.
