Where to Store Your Advance Directive in Queensland and How to Upload It

The Problem With the Filing Cabinet Approach

A signed, witnessed Advance Health Directive sitting in your bedside drawer is legally valid. It's also functionally invisible to the paramedics, emergency department staff, and ICU teams who need to read it during a crisis. Queensland Health's own data shows that clinicians frequently default to aggressive intervention when they can't locate a patient's directive in time — not because they want to override your wishes, but because they have no evidence those wishes exist.

The gap between having a directive and having one that's actually accessible is where most planning efforts fall apart.

Queensland Health's Electronic Record: The Viewer and the ACP Tracker

Queensland operates a statewide electronic health record system called The Viewer, which clinicians across public hospitals, emergency departments, and ambulance services can access. Within The Viewer sits the ACP Tracker — a dedicated module that stores uploaded advance care planning documents including your Advance Health Directive (Form 4), Statement of Choices, and Enduring Power of Attorney.

When a patient presents at a Queensland public hospital, clinicians can pull up The Viewer and check whether any advance care documents are on file. If yours is there, the treating team reads your documented preferences before making treatment decisions. If it isn't, they follow the statutory health attorney hierarchy and make decisions based on the Health Care Principles in the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000.

How to Upload Your Advance Health Directive to Queensland Health

The Statewide Office of Advance Care Planning (SOACP) processes uploads to The Viewer. You don't need a referral or an appointment — just a completed, signed document and a way to send it.

Submission methods:

• Email: Send a scanned PDF or clear photograph to the SOACP (the current address is listed on the Queensland Health advance care planning page — check before sending, as addresses occasionally change during departmental restructures)
• Post: Mail a photocopy to the Statewide Office of Advance Care Planning. Keep your original; they process copies
• Fax: Still accepted, though email is faster for confirmation
• Via your GP or hospital: Some practices and hospitals submit documents on your behalf as part of their clinical workflow

After the SOACP receives your document, they upload it to The Viewer. There's no formal confirmation letter — if you want to verify the upload, ask your GP to check The Viewer at your next appointment, or call the SOACP directly.

My Health Record (Federal) vs The Viewer (State)

Australia's federal My Health Record system also allows you to upload advance care planning documents. But here's the critical distinction: Queensland public hospital clinicians primarily use The Viewer, not My Health Record, during emergency presentations. The two systems don't automatically sync.

Upload to both if you want maximum coverage, but prioritise The Viewer via the SOACP. That's the system Queensland emergency and hospital staff actually check first.

For My Health Record uploads, log into your account at myhealthrecord.gov.au and upload your directive under the Advance Care Planning section. Your GP can also upload it during a consultation.

Who Should Get a Physical Copy

Electronic records are the primary failsafe, but physical copies serve as backups — particularly in regional Queensland where system access can be intermittent, or in private hospitals that may not have full Viewer access.

Distribute certified copies to:

• Your appointed attorney (or attorneys, if you've named multiple)
• Your GP's practice
• Any specialist you see regularly (oncologist, geriatrician, neurologist)
• Your residential aged care facility, if applicable
• A trusted family member who isn't the appointed attorney — someone who can produce the document if the attorney is unreachable

Keep a record of who holds copies. The Queensland Advance Directive & Living Will Kit includes a Document Distribution Log specifically for tracking this.

What About the Queensland Ambulance Service?

Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) paramedics can access The Viewer in the field via their electronic patient care records. If your AHD is uploaded to The Viewer, paramedics responding to a 000 call can check it before initiating treatment.

However, in time-critical emergencies — cardiac arrest, major trauma — paramedics follow clinical protocols first and check records second. An Acute Resuscitation Plan (ARP) displayed prominently in the home (on the fridge, near the bed) is more immediately visible to first responders than an electronic record. An ARP is a separate clinical document completed by your treating doctor that gives specific resuscitation instructions. It doesn't replace your AHD, but it complements it for emergency scenarios.

Keeping Your Stored Documents Current

An advance directive doesn't expire under Queensland law, but an outdated one can cause confusion. If you revoke your directive or execute a new version, you need to:

1. Notify the SOACP to update The Viewer
2. Retrieve or destroy old physical copies from everyone who received one
3. Distribute the new version following the same process
4. Update My Health Record if you uploaded there

The common mistake is executing a new directive and forgetting to replace the old version in The Viewer. If a clinician pulls up an outdated document, they'll follow instructions you no longer want followed. Under Queensland law, the most recent validly executed AHD takes precedence — but only if the clinician knows a newer version exists.

For a step-by-step storage and distribution workflow — including the upload process, copy tracking, and update reminders — the Queensland Advance Directive & Living Will Kit walks you through the complete system.

See more Queensland guides →