Record your choices in Victoria

Record your wishes and preferences

In Victoria, an adult with decision-making capacity can record their values, preferences and instructions for future health care wishes in an Advance Care Directive.

An Advance Care Directive is a legal document that lets you record specific instructions about refusing or accepting medical treatments and under what conditions.

The interpreter statement section must be completed if they helped translate the document.

The Instructions for completing the Advance care directive for adults [DOCX 135 KB] can help you complete the form.

There’s a form you can use if you need someone’s help to complete and sign the document due to a physical disability affecting your writing and signing. In this situation, use the Advance Care Directive for adults for someone signing on your behalf form [PDF 763 KB]. It’s important to note that this form is for a person who has decision-making capacity and only requires assistance for physical reasons.

Medical treatment includes treatment for physical and mental health and wellbeing. If you’d like to document your preferences for mental health treatments, you can use an advance statement of preferences form [PDF 1.4 MB].

In Victoria, children and young people under 18 may make an Advance Care Directive. To be valid, the Advance Care Directive must meet the same formal requirements as a document completed by an adult. One of the witnesses must be a child and adolescent psychiatrist or a psychologist with special qualifications and experience. The interactive version of the form allows for the information to be completed digitally.

For more information read the Instructions for completing the Advance care directive form for young people under 18 years of age [PDF 179 KB].

Learn more about expressing your values and preferences or making specific instructions.

Appoint a substitute decision-maker

In Victoria you can appoint one or more adults as your medical treatment decision-maker. Your medical treatment decision-makers can consent to or refuse treatment on your behalf. While you can appoint multiple substitute decision-makers, only one person can be identified as the medical treatment decision-maker on a particular occasion.

The interpreter statement section must be completed if they assisted in document translation.

For additional guidance and information to help you, read the Victorian Office of Public Advocate’s:

• Checklist of steps for appointing your medical treatment decision-maker [PDF 126 KB]
• Medical treatment decision-maker's guide [PDF 356 KB].

There’s a form you can use if you need someone’s help to complete and sign the document due to a physical disability affecting your writing and signing. In this situation, use the Appointment of medical treatment decision-maker for someone signing on your behalf form [617 KB]. It’s important to note that this form is for a person who has decision-making capacity and only requires assistance for physical reasons.

If you’ve appointed a medical enduring power of attorney, an enduring power of attorney, or enduring power of guardianship before 12 March 2018, these are still valid.

For more information about substitute decision-makers, read about choosing someone to speak for you.

Options if a person has impaired decision-making capacity

If a person is not able to make or communicate their decisions, a family member or health professional can record medical treatment preferences on their behalf. Use the What I understand to be the person's preferences and values form [PDF 357 KB].

Learn more about the role of the substitute decision-maker when a person is unable to make or communicate decisions.

Learn more about options for a person who can’t make their own decisions.

Storing your documents

Read our general recommendations about storing and sharing your documents.

Making changes to documents

In Victoria, an Advance Care Directive ends when you complete a new Advance Care Directive, you cancel it, it expires on the included expiry date, or you die. You need to complete a Revocation of an advance care directive form [PDF 135 KB] to cancel your advance care directive.

Changes to your medical treatment decision-maker appointment documents can be done in 2 ways.

• Use the medical treatment decision-maker revocation form [PDF 135 KB] if you wish to cancel the appointment of a person.
• If the person appointed is unable to act on your behalf, they’ll need to resign using the Resignation of medical decision-maker form [PDF 122 KB].

Learn more about making changes to documents.