Advance Health Care Planning in Australia | Your Guide to End-of-Life Choices
Advance health care planning is about making your future medical and care wishes known — before you’re unable to speak for yourself. It’s a way to ensure your values, preferences, and voice guide your care if you become seriously ill or injured.
At eziFunerals, we believe planning ahead is one of the most empowering and caring things you can do for yourself and your family. This guide will help you understand what advance care planning is, why it matters, and how to start.
What Is Advance Health Care Planning?
Advance health care planning involves documenting your preferences for medical treatment, lifestyle support, and end-of-life care. It includes:
- Choosing who will speak for you if you can’t (your substitute decision-maker)
- Recording your wishes in an advance care directive
- Discussing your values and preferences with your family, carers, and doctors
It’s about making sure your future treatment aligns with what matters most to you — quality of life, dignity, and personal values.
Anyone, regardless of their age or state of health, should consider doing advance care planning. But, it is particularly important for people who have an ongoing medical problem.
Why Advance Care Planning Is Important
1. Your Wishes Are Respected
You have the right to accept or refuse medical treatment. Advance care planning ensures your choices are followed, even if you can’t speak for yourself.
2. Reduces Family Stress
Loved ones won’t be left guessing or feeling guilt about “doing the right thing.” It provides clarity during emotional times.
3. Avoids Unwanted Treatments
Without a clear plan, you could receive interventions that don’t align with your values or beliefs.
4. Supports Better Medical Decision-Making
Doctors and health professionals can provide care that reflects your goals, not just clinical protocols.
What’s Included in an Advance Care Plan?
An advance care plan may include:
- An Advance Care Directive (ACD) – A legal document outlining your treatment preferences and instructions
- Appointment of a Substitute Decision-Maker (SDM) – A person you trust to make medical decisions on your behalf
- Statements about your values – Such as comfort, independence, religious or cultural needs
- Specific treatment preferences – Life support, resuscitation, artificial feeding, palliative care
Each Australian state and territory has its own legal framework for these documents.
Who Should Consider Advance Care Planning?
Advance care planning is not just for the elderly or unwell. It’s recommended for:
- Adults of any age, especially those with chronic illness
- People in aged care or retirement
- Those with a family history of serious illness
- Anyone who wants to ensure their future care reflects their personal wishes
It’s best done before a health crisis occurs — and updated regularly as your circumstances or values change.
How Advance Care Planning Links to Funeral Planning
Advance care planning and funeral planning often go hand-in-hand. Both give you control over how you’re cared for — and remembered.
With eziFunerals, you can:
- Record your funeral preferences (burial or cremation, music, service style, etc.)
- Appoint a Funeral Guardian to ensure your wishes are honoured
- Prepay or prearrange a funeral to relieve stress from your family
Together, these tools create a complete plan that reflects who you are.
How eziFunerals Can Help
We’re here to support you in every aspect of end-of-life planning — not just funerals.
We offer:
- Free funeral planning checklists
- Guides to appointing a Funeral Guardian
- Resources on cultural and religious preferences
- Referral to prepaid funeral plans
- Local funeral provider comparisons across Australia
We empower Australians to plan ahead with clarity and care.
How to Create an Advance Health Care Plan?
eziFunerals Advance Care Planning service provides you with an easy, simple and convenient way to plan your end of life health care, from the comfort of your own home, for just $9.50. Simply follow these steps:
1. Go to www.ezifunerals.com.au
2. Register as a new Funeral Consumer, or Simply create a FREE account.
3. Once your account is created, select the ‘Create A Health Care Plan’ option and follow the steps provided.
4. Click the button on the right side “CREATE HEALTH CARE PLAN”
5. Fill out the form for “My Personal Details,” “My Health Care Guardian,” and “My Responsible Persons.”
6. Once you’ve filled out the form, click the next button to move forward in the process. Finally, click “Save My Plan” to complete the process.
“Details of Person Making Advance Care Plan” allows you to record:
- your personal details
- appoint person/s to be your Health Care Guardian and to make decisions on your behalf.
- list of responsible persons who you have shared and have a copy of your plan.
“My Personal Values About Dying” allows you to record:
- a statement of your values and beliefs about dying and your health care and medical wishes in the event you are unable to speak for yourself.
- how you would like your pain and comfort managed
- what treatments you would like given or not given.
- how you would like to be cared for at the end of your life.
“Directions About Medical Care” allows you to record:
- specific directions about your health care and medical treatment including cardio pulmonary resuscitation and other medical treatments.
“Specific Requests About Organ And Tissue Donation” allows you to record:
- specific requests about organ and tissue donation following your death.
- specific requests about ante-mortem treatment for organ donation (immediately before your death).
“Authorisation” allows you to record:
- confirmation of your Advance Health Care Plan wishes.
- details of witness and treating health professional.
3. Once your plan is complete you can download it as a PDF as an important record of your wishes.
eziFunerals Advance Health Care Plans can help your family
It is only used if you are unable to make or communicate your own end of life health care and medical decisions. It would then guide the decision making of your doctor, your Guardian and your family.
eziFunerals helps you choose your Advance Health Care Guardian?
The person you choose should be someone you trust, who will listen carefully to your beliefs, values, goals and wishes for future medical care, and will faithfully represent you. Your Health Care Guardian is expected to act in your best interests, making the same decisions they believe you would have made for yourself.
Is My Advance Health Care Plan a legal document?
No. An Advance Health Care Plan is not a legal document and will not necessarily be followed. You don’t have to sign an advanced health care plan, but your signature makes it clear that it is your wishes that have been written down.
If you require your end of life care and medical treatment to be followed as a legal document, then you should complete an Advance Health Directive and/or appoint an Enduring Power of Guardianship. Please contact your hospital/health care agency in your state or speak to your Doctor for more information about an Advance Health Directive.
Start a conversation with your family today?
Talk to your family, your doctors and to those most likely to be involved in making decisions if you are very ill. In many hospitals there are people who can help you to discuss these issues with your family and doctor.
Note: You have the final say in who sees it. Keep it somewhere safe, and tell people where it is in case they need to find it in the future. You can keep a copy in your medical notes. We’ll store a copy in your eziFunerals account and you can even upload a copy in your My Health Record.
Can I upload My Advance Health Care Plan to ‘My Health Record’?
Did you know you can upload an eziFunerals Advance Care Plan to your My Health Record? This will help make your treating doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers aware that you have specific wishes about your future medical treatments or care given to you. If you do not have a My Health Record, find out how to register here.
What happens if I don’t have an Advance Health Care Plan?
If you become unwell and cannot communicate for yourself, doctors will treat you with any treatment that they believe is likely to be of benefit to you. For some people, this means that they would receive treatment that they would not want. If you feel strongly about certain types of treatments that you would not want to receive, then an eziFunerals Advance Health Care Plan is a good way to communicate those wishes.
