You decide what decisions and treatments you want to include in the Advance Health Directive. You can include medical, surgical and dental treatments, palliative care and measures such as life-support and resuscitation. It is helpful to be as specific as possible in your treatment decisions.

The form also includes a values and preferences section where you can write down things that are most important to you about your health and care. The questions in this section are the same as those in the Values and Preferences Form (PDF 281KB).

The WA Advance Health Directive was updated in the Guardianship and Administration Act Regulations on 4 August 2022. The new Advance Health Directive is easier to complete and understand as it:

• enables you to capture your values and preferences, in addition to treatment decisions
• includes more guidance and examples
• combines tick box and free text questions
• includes consent to medical research.

Statutory documents are the strongest and most formal way of recording your values, preferences and decisions for future health and personal care. Examples include an Advance Health Directive and an Enduring Power of Guardianship.

These documents are recognised under legislation in WA and, in most situations, must be followed.

Statutory documents must:

• be made by an adult with capacity
• be made by the person (not by someone else on their behalf)
• be signed by the person and witnessed according to formal requirements.

• Start by reading the Advance Health Directive (PDF 500KB) and the Read the Guide to Making an Advance Health Directive in WA (PDF 1.5MB).
• Think about what matters to you most about your values, health and health care and what will matter most if you become seriously unwell or injured in future.
• Talk to close family and friends about what is important to you.
• Seek medical and/or legal advice as required.
• Complete the details in your Advance Health Directive by hand or type into the electronic PDF form.
• Sign your Advance Health Directive in the presence of 2 witnesses aged 18 years or older, including one person who is authorised to witness statutory declarations in WA.
• Make certified copies and upload a copy to My Health Record (external site) to ensure your Advance Health Directive is available to your treating health professionals if it is needed.
• Keep the original Advance Health Directive in a safe place.
• Give certified copies of your Advance Health Directive to close family and friends and people who are involved in your care.
• Plan a time (in 2 to 5 years) to review your Advance Health Directive or do it immediately if your health circumstances change.

Yes. In most situations, if you become unable to make or communicate decisions about your treatment and care, health professionals must follow the decisions in your Advance Health Directive, except in some limited exceptions. A limited exception may occur if:

• circumstances relevant to your treatment decision have changed since you made the treatment decision, and
• you could not have reasonably anticipated those changes when you made your Advance Health Directive, and
• it is likely that a reasonable person with knowledge of the change of circumstances would change their mind about the treatment decision.

If you are unable to make decisions for yourself and non-urgent treatment is needed, treatment decisions will be made according to the Hierarchy of treatment decision-makers (PDF 1.5MB).

If you do not have an Advance Health Directive, or your Advance Health Directive does not cover the treatment decision required, the health professional will seek a treatment decision from the first person on the hierarchy who:

• is 18 years or older
• has full legal capacity
• is reasonably available
• is willing to make the decision.