ACT Living Will: What Canberra Calls It and How It Works

If you search for "living will" in ACT legislation, you will not find it. The term does not appear in any ACT statute, and there is no form labelled "living will" on the ACT Legislation Register. That does not mean the concept does not exist — it just lives under different names.

How the ACT Translates "Living Will"

What most people mean by "living will" is a written document that tells doctors what treatments to provide or withhold if you cannot speak for yourself. In the ACT, that function is split across two instruments:

The Health Direction (under the Medical Treatment (Health Directions) Act 2006) covers the binding part — legally enforceable refusals or withdrawals of specific medical treatments. If you want to refuse CPR, mechanical ventilation, or artificial feeding, the Health Direction is the document that compels doctors to comply.

The Statement of Choices covers the values and preferences part — your quality-of-life thresholds, spiritual wishes, preferred care settings, and treatment goals. This document guides clinical teams but is not legally binding. Doctors must take it into account, but they are not legally compelled to follow it.

Together, these two documents cover the same ground as what Americans call a "living will" or what other Australian states call an "advance health directive" or "advance care directive."

Why the ACT Split It Into Two Documents

The ACT's legislative design reflects a deliberate choice. By limiting the Health Direction to treatment refusals only, the legislation draws a clear line between what is legally enforceable (refusing treatment) and what is aspirational (requesting treatment). Other states blend both into a single advance directive, which can create clinical ambiguity about which instructions carry legal force.

The trade-off is complexity. In South Australia, you fill out one Advance Care Directive. In the ACT, you need a Health Direction, a Statement of Choices, and an Enduring Power of Attorney — three documents with different witnessing rules, different legal effects, and a chronological rule for resolving inconsistency.

What to Do If You Have a Living Will From Another State

If you move to Canberra from NSW, Victoria, or Queensland and you already have an advance directive or living will from your previous state, do not assume it has the same status as an ACT Health Direction. Interstate EPoAs may be recognised under ACT law, but recognition of an advance directive depends on the specific instrument and the circumstances — a NSW Advance Care Directive does not automatically override ACT-specific procedures at Canberra Hospital.

The safest approach is to execute ACT-specific documents. Keep your interstate documents as supplementary evidence of your wishes, but ensure you have an ACT Health Direction and EPoA that comply with local witnessing and execution requirements. This is especially important for the Canberra–Queanbeyan corridor, where families regularly cross between ACT and NSW health systems.

The ACT Advance Directive & Living Will Kit walks you through the full tripartite system — Health Direction, Statement of Choices, and EPoA — with clear guidance on which document does what, the correct execution order, and how to make sure your wishes are actually enforceable under ACT law.

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