Palliative Care Australia
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Palliative care
Overview
Getting your affairs in order can be an important task in the final stages of life.
It’s helpful to plan for your future health care, and to discuss your preferences with your loved ones and healthcare team. This process is called advance care planning.
It’s also important to make a will, which sets out what you want to happen to your assets after you die. You may also wish to select someone who can make decisions for you if needed (a substitute decision-maker).
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Advance care planning
It is important to plan for your future health care, and to discuss your preferences and values with your family, friends and healthcare team in case there comes a time when you are not able to speak for yourself. This process is called advance care planning.
Advance care planning can be started at any time, whether you are healthy or ill. Many people find that advance care planning helps them feel more prepared for the future and gives them peace of mind.
Many people also find their attitudes and preferences for medical care change as they get closer to death, and they may need to revisit their decisions regularly.
For some people, quality of life is more important than length, but for others, it may be the reverse. Health professionals must give patients the best care they can. Sometimes, a treatment is unlikely to help and may even cause harm. In these cases, doctors are supported by the law and medical rules to not start treatment, or to stop treatment. This may happen even if a patient or their family wants the treatment to continue or begin. If this happens, it is important to talk with the senior doctor looking after you. You can also ask for a second opinion.
Discussing these issues will help others understand your goals, values and beliefs, and can reduce distress for family members. It makes disagreements about your care less likely, including whether to keep you alive using any means possible or to focus on your comfort.
See Advance care planning for more information.
What advance care planning can involve
- Reflecting on and talking about what is important to your quality of life
- Discussing your wishes and preferences for your care
- Deciding what treatments you may or may not want, including where you want to receive care (e.g. in hospital or at home if possible)
- Preparing legal documents, including an advance care directive and appointing a substitute decision-maker
- For more information about advance care planning call 1300 208 582.
You might like to use one of Palliative Care Australia’s discussion starters, or visit Advance Care Planning Australia.
Preparing legal documents
If you haven’t already, now is the time to think about what legal documents you may need, such as making a will, appointing a substitute decision-maker and preparing an advance care directive. These documents can have formal requirements such as authorised witnesses for signatures, so it’s helpful to start sooner rather than later.
For these documents to be legally binding, you need to have decision-making capacity at the time of making them. In general, having capacity means you are able to understand the choices available and the consequences of your decisions, and that you are able to communicate these choices.
Each state and territory has different laws about what having capacity means and also about making an advance care directive and appointing a substitute decision-maker. For more information, talk to your doctor or a lawyer, or visit End of Life Law in Australia for the law in your state or territory.
Making a will
Making a will
A will is a legal document that sets out what you want to happen to your assets after you die. These assets are called your estate, and may include your house, land, car, money, jewellery, clothes, furniture or investments. A will can record your wishes and guardianship plans for any children. It can also include arrangements for pets.
Making a will is not difficult but it needs to be prepared and written in the right way to be legally valid. A will should be reviewed and updated as circumstances change. It’s best to ask a lawyer to advise you, or contact the Public Trustee in your state or territory. Cancer Council may be able to connect you with a lawyer. Call Cancer Connect on 13 11 20.
If you die without a will, you are said to die intestate. Your assets are distributed to family according to a formula provided by law. Any will can be challenged in court, but having a valid will usually means your assets go to who you want, avoids costs, and simplifies things.
Appointing a substitute decision-maker
Appointing a substitute decision-maker
You can organise for someone to make legal, financial and/or healthcare decisions on your behalf if you become too unwell (lose decision-making capacity) to make these decisions yourself. This person is called a substitute decision-maker. You can choose one person to make decisions about your finances and a different person to make decisions about your health care. Your substitute decisionmaker/s should be someone you trust.
Financial and legal decisions
A person who can make financial and legal decisions on your behalf is appointed using a document called an enduring power of attorney.
Healthcare decisions
A substitute decision-maker for health care should be someone who understands your values and what you want for the future. They do not have to be a family member. You should talk to your chosen substitute decision-maker, and share any documents with them, to help them understand your wishes and preferences. Depending on your state or territory, the document used to appoint a substitute decision-maker, and the name of the role, may be different.
What happens if you don’t appoint a substitute decision-maker for healthcare decisions
If you can’t make decisions for yourself (have insufficient capacity) and you do not have an advance care directive (see below) or an appointed substitute decision-maker, the law in each state and territory outlines who may make medical treatment decisions for you. This is usually someone close to you, such as your spouse or partner, family member or close friend. For more information about who may make treatment decisions for you, visit End of Life Law in Australia.
Making an advance care directive
Making an advance care directive
You can record your wishes for your future health care in an advance care directive – what this is called varies depending on your state or territory. This will only come into effect if you can’t make decisions for yourself (except in the Australian Capital Territory, where you can choose for a Health Direction to also apply while you still have decision-making capacity). It is legally binding. In some states and territories, you can appoint a substitute decision-maker in an advance care directive.
Keep a copy of your advance care planning documents for yourself and share copies with your GP, oncologist, substitute decision-maker/s, family member or friend. Ask your doctor or the hospital to place your directive on your medical record. You can also save a digital version online at My Health Record, a government website that stores your key health information. You can update your advance care directive when your preferences change.
As each state and territory has different laws about advance care directives, talk to a lawyer for specific advice about your situation. For information about the law on advance care directives, visit End of Life Law in Australia.
Managing social media
If you use social media, think about what happens to your accounts after your death (your digital legacy). Each social media platform has different rules for deactivating accounts, and some allow your account to be turned into a memorial page. Memorialising, locking or deactivating your accounts helps stop your information or that of your contacts being used by hackers.
Prepare a list of your social media accounts and directions for how they should be handled and leave it with someone you trust, so they can manage your ongoing digital presence in the way you want.
Voluntary assisted dying
Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is when a person with an incurable condition or illness chooses to end their life using specially prescribed medicines from a doctor. “Voluntary” means that it is the choice of the person to end their life. VAD is different to palliative care. However, a person who accesses VAD can also access palliative care up until their death.
VAD is only available to people who meet strict conditions, including having decision-making capacity and being expected to die within a short period. They must follow certain steps as required by the laws in their state or territory. It is essential to check the latest updates and know the law and rules around this choice in the state or territory where you live.
As of August 2026, VAD is operating in all 6 Australian states and the ACT. In the Northern Territory, VAD laws have been passed and VAD is likely to begin in 2028. For current information on VAD, visit End of Life Law in Australia.
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