Advance care planning

Advance care planning involves making a plan for future health and personal care should a person lose their decision-making capacity.

Advance care planning captures peoples’ values and wishes. It enables them to continue to influence treatment decisions, even when they can no longer actively participate.

Advance care planning - overview

Advance care planning allows people to clearly express their values and preferences to inform clinical decision-making when they are unable to directly participate.

Advance care planning strategy

Victoria's advance care planning strategy aims to ensure all Victorians can express their preferences for their future treatment.

Best practice standards for advance care planning

An overview of advance care planning best practice to guide Victorian clinicians in developing or activating an advance care plan.

Initiating advance care planning

Information and advice for clinicians about developing, reviewing and activating the advance care planning cycle.

Implementing advance care planning

Priorities and actions involved in implementing advance care planning across Victorian health services.

Advance care planning forms

These forms allow Victorians to write a legally binding advance care directive, appoint a medical treatment decision maker and appoint a support person.

Advance care planning resources

Tools and resources to support healthcare services to implement advance care planning.

Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016

This Act will give statutory recognition to advance care directives and establish a single framework for medical treatment decision making for people without decision making capacity, ensuring people receive medical treatment that is consistent with their preferences and values.

Planning when a person does not have decision making capacity

What happens when a person does not have decision making capacity to make plans for their medical treatment, and the role of the medical treatment decision maker.