Our advisory service is changing its name to the National Advance Care Planning Support Service.
Our free support service plays an important role in helping people access the benefits of advance care planning and ensuring health professionals and aged care workers are supported to deliver advance care planning in their communities.
The name change reflects the broader, more comprehensive support we offer the general public and health professionals and aged care workers – from starting a conversation to choosing a substitute decision-maker and completing forms.
Since the commencement of our service in 2017, the needs of our users have evolved from more general advice to the more tactical support of assistance completing advance care planning documents.
Increasingly we also offer advance care planning support to carers, often when a loved one enters aged care, as well as support to GPs and their patients.
While our name is changing, our phone number and hours of operation stay the same.
Phone: 1300 208 582, Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm (AEST).
“Uptake of advance care planning in Australia remains low with less than 15% of Australians having an advance care directive. Our support service plays a critical role in helping more Australians maintain control over their medical choices and prepare for a time where they may be unable to communicate,” says Linda Nolte, Program Director of Advance Care Planning Australia.
“In addition to supporting the general public, we receive many calls each month from health professionals and aged care workers seeking advance care planning support, from implementation and processes, to the ethical and legal concerns,” says Ms Nolte.