Revoke Advance Care Directive Victoria

You Can Change Your Mind at Any Time

A valid Advance Care Directive (ACD) in Victoria is not a permanent, irreversible commitment. Under the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016, you can revoke your ACD at any time, provided you still have decision-making capacity. Once capacity is lost, the directive stands — which is exactly why it exists.

There's no cooling-off period, no court approval needed, and no fee. But there is a process, and doing it sloppily can leave conflicting documents floating around the healthcare system.

How to Revoke Your ACD

Victoria allows revocation in two ways:

Option 1: Complete a new ACD. The simplest and most common approach. When you execute a new Advance Care Directive that covers the same scope as the old one, the new directive automatically supersedes the previous version. The new ACD must meet all the same formal requirements — signed by you, witnessed by two adults (one a registered medical practitioner), all physically present.

Option 2: Written revocation. You can revoke your ACD by putting the revocation in writing. The revocation doesn't need to follow the same witnessing formalities as the original ACD, but it should be clear, dated, and signed. State that you are revoking the ACD dated [original date] in its entirety.

In either case, the critical follow-up step is distribution. Every person and institution that holds a copy of your old ACD needs to know it's been revoked, and anyone who holds the old document needs to destroy or replace their copy.

When You Should Update Your ACD

The recommended review cycle is every two years, but several life events should trigger an immediate review:

• A new medical diagnosis. A cancer diagnosis, heart failure, kidney disease, or neurological condition changes the clinical scenarios your directive needs to address.
• A major surgical procedure. Pre-surgery is a natural time to review whether your treatment preferences still match your current values.
• Moving to residential aged care. The transition to a residential aged care facility (RACF) changes the clinical context significantly — your directive should address scenarios specific to that setting.
• A change in your MTDM. If your appointed Medical Treatment Decision Maker has died, become incapacitated, or if your relationship with them has changed, you need to update the MTDM appointment. You might also want to review the ACD at the same time to ensure consistency.
• Family changes. Marriage, divorce, separation, birth of a child, or estrangement from a family member can all affect how the statutory decision-making hierarchy works and whether your appointed MTDM is still the right choice.
• A change in your values or beliefs. People's views on life-sustaining treatment, organ donation, and quality of life evolve. If your directive no longer reflects how you feel, update it.

The Distribution Problem

Revoking an ACD without chasing down every copy creates a dangerous situation. If your GP's file still contains the old directive and you haven't provided the new one, a clinician searching for your wishes during a crisis will find and follow the outdated version.

After revoking or replacing your ACD:

1. Notify your GP and ask them to remove the old document from your patient file and replace it with the new version (or note the revocation).
2. Contact your hospital's medical records department and ask them to update your electronic medical record.
3. Update My Health Record. Log in to myhealthrecord.gov.au, remove the old ACD upload, and upload the new one.
4. Inform your MTDM. Give them a copy of the new directive and retrieve or destroy the old copy they hold.
5. Notify any treating specialists who have the old directive on file.
6. Retrieve or destroy physical copies — from your home safe, your solicitor's custody, or anywhere else you stored the original.

What If You've Lost Capacity?

If you no longer have decision-making capacity, you cannot revoke your ACD. The directive remains in force, and your Medical Treatment Decision Maker (or the statutory hierarchy if no MTDM was appointed) makes decisions within the framework your directive established.

This is why periodic review matters so much. An ACD written ten years ago, never reviewed, and never updated may still be technically valid, but treating clinicians may treat an outdated and unreviewed directive with less weight — particularly the values directive sections, which require interpretation. Instructional directives (specific refusals or consents) remain binding regardless of age, but a clinical team that discovers a decades-old directive may question whether it still represents the patient's genuine wishes.

Revoking an MTDM Appointment

The process for revoking an MTDM appointment is similar. You can revoke it at any time while you have capacity, either by appointing a new MTDM (which automatically revokes the previous appointment) or by giving written notice to the appointed person. Notify your GP and hospital that the previous MTDM is no longer authorised to make medical decisions on your behalf.

The Victoria Advance Directive & Living Will Kit includes a Document Distribution Log that tracks every copy you've distributed, making the update process systematic rather than a scramble to remember who has what.

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