Living Wills and Advance Directives in Australia

Running head: NURSING
Nursing
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1
NURSING
Living wills and advance directives
An advance directive sometimes referred as living will is written by the person
themselves. It is a written record of that particular individual’s preference for future care like
preferred outcomes, directions about care and treatments. Advance Care Directives can also
formally appoint a substitute decision maker. The Advance Care Directives (ADC) in
Australia differs between states and territories (Advance Care planning Australia 2018). In
the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) the ADC is guided by three different options like
enduring power of attorney, complete and advance care plan statement of choices and
complete health direction (recording future health care decision: withdrawal of treatment or
choice of doctor) (ACT Government 2018). In New South Wales, the ADC is only applicable
for the adults with decision-making capacity and no can over-ride the ACD not even the legal
guardian appointed by the owner of the ACD (NSW Ministry of Health 2017). In NSW
however, the potter of attorney can only take decision for the business and financial matter
and not for health. However, ACD in Queensland states that power of attorney can take
decision about health-related and personal matters (Queensland Government 2018). The
ACD of Victoria provides an avenue to recruit a medical treatment decision maker in order to
take decision on their behalf when they no longer have their own decision-making capacity
(Victoria State Government 2016).
Guardianship
En Enduring Power of Guardianship (EPG) is a legal document, which helps a person
to appoint one or more than one person whom he or she trust or knows well as an ensuring
guardian to make decisions on their behalf in the domain of the personal life, lifestyle factors
and medical treatment decision. The concept of EPG is only applicable when they that very
person in unable to take their own decision or is unable to communicate their decisions to