An Advance Care Directive can make sure that your voice is heard in any decision making about your life,
even if you're not able to convey your wishes at the time.
This means that decisions about you are made in accordance with your values, beliefs and wishes
even if you are not able to speak for yourself. If you don’t have an Advance Care Directive
it may be unclear who you would want and trust to make important decisions about your accommodation,
health and other personal decisions. For instance, would you want your spouse or partner,
your children, your siblings or a really close friend to make your decisions?
Or maybe you would like a number of people to make decisions together.
Who do you think would know your wishes best and would be able to speak up for you?
You can make this clear in an Advance Care Directive.
Without an Advance Care Directive, family or close friends who could be asked
to make decisions for you may not know your wishes or may not agree on what they would be.
This can result in disagreements between relatives and friends about who is the most
appropriate person to make your decisions and whether these decisions actually reflect
your wishes, beliefs and values. The potential for conflict can be significantly reduced
by making an Advance Care Directive and will make sure that you receive the right support,
timely medical treatment and appropriate accommodation options.
At times, when it comes to making decisions for someone who has impaired capacity,
there are disagreements between substitute decision makers, family members,
friends and service providers. For instance, if you have appointed more than one Substitute Decision-Maker,
there may be disagreements about your wishes.
Sometimes one Substitute Decision-Maker won’t pass on relevant information about health
or accommodation issues to the other. At other times they may stop relatives and friends
from visiting you. If a conflict does arise, The Office of the Public Advocate has a
Dispute Resolution Service that can assist the people involved to resolve the disagreement.
This service offers assistance in a number of ways, with the aim that the dispute can be resolved
without going through a more formal process at the tribunal. You can call the Office and speak
to our Information Officer who will be able to assist by providing information
and advice about the Advance Care Directives Act as it applies to your particular situation.
The Information Officer will provide information about people’s rights, the roles and responsibilities
of a substitute decision-maker and how to support someone in their decision making.
This information may be able to assist the people involved to resolve the dispute themselves
and to be advised of other options. The Dispute Resolution Service can assist
to resolve conflicts by mediation using a model that has been developed specifically
to uphold the rights of the person who made the Advance Care Directive.
Our mediation service provides a voluntary, cooperative process where an experienced, independent mediator
helps the people involved in the conflict to come together, talk about the issues in dispute
and to reach solutions that are agreeable to all. The mediation model
is designed to make sure that the person who made the Advance Care Directive is involved
in the best way possible. Depending on your ability, you may be directly involved
in the mediation process, or indirectly involved and have an advocate or another person speak
on your behalf. In both situations, the mediator will make sure that they speak with you privately
and listen to your views before the mediation takes place.
The third part of the Office of the Public Advocate Dispute Resolution service is making declarations.
In situations where there is conflict or doubt about an Advance Care Directive, the Public Advocate
can be asked to make a statement about your capacity to make a specific decision,
or to define the roles and responsibilities of a substitute decision maker.
The declaration process will uphold your rights and include you in the process as much as possible.
In conclusion, we encourage you to make an Advance Care Directive and the dispute resolution service
is there to assist if difficulties arise, so take control of your future today and plan ahead.