Revoke or Update an Advance Personal Plan in the Northern Territory

You Can Change Your Mind — With One Condition

An Advance Personal Plan can be updated, amended, or completely revoked at any time, as long as the maker still has decision-making capacity. Once capacity is lost, the document is locked. No one else can revoke or change it on the maker's behalf, though NTCAT can review and vary it if there are grounds.

This creates a narrow window for action after certain diagnoses. If you receive a diagnosis of early-stage dementia, for example, you can still update your APP while you retain capacity — but that window will close as the condition progresses.

The Safest Way to Update

The cleanest method is to execute an entirely new Advance Personal Plan that explicitly states it revokes all prior plans. This avoids the confusion that arises when multiple versions of a document exist across different registries and with different family members.

The new plan must meet all the original execution requirements:

• The maker must have decision-making capacity
• The document must be signed in the physical presence of an authorised witness
• The witness must certify that the maker appeared to understand the document and acted voluntarily

To revoke an Advance Personal Plan, the maker must have decision-making capacity, destroy the original and any known copies, and notify in writing anyone with a copy and each register holding it, including the PGT Register, Land Titles Office, and My Health Record.

Notification Checklist

After executing a new APP or revoking an old one, you must notify every entity that holds a copy:

Public Guardian and Trustee — send a formal written notification to update the free APP Register. If you are registering a new plan, post the original signed document to the Darwin office.

Land Titles Office — if the old plan was registered for property transactions, submit a withdrawal form and pay the lodgement fee. Register the new plan if it also grants property authority.

My Health Record — log into the MyGov portal, delete the outdated PDF, and upload the newly executed version.

Former decision-makers — write to any person whose appointment you have revoked to formally notify them that their legal authority has ended.

Your GP and hospital registry — deliver a certified copy of the new plan to replace the old one on file.

Your current decision-makers — provide copies of the new plan and confirm that they understand any changes to their authority.

Missing any of these steps creates a real risk: a hospital or bank acting on an outdated document because they do not know a newer version exists.

Updating After a Diagnosis

A diagnosis of a progressive condition — dementia, motor neurone disease, Parkinson's — is the most common trigger for updating an APP. The maker now has specific information about what their future likely holds and can record more targeted Advance Consent Decisions.

The critical question is timing. Under NT law, capacity is presumed and decision-specific. An early-stage dementia diagnosis does not automatically mean you lack capacity to update your APP. You may retain capacity for months or years after diagnosis.

If there is any doubt, a formal capacity assessment by a medical practitioner can establish that the maker had capacity at the time of signing. This is particularly important if the new APP changes decision-makers or records treatment refusals that family members might later challenge — a contemporaneous capacity assessment provides strong evidence that the document reflects the maker's informed wishes.

Partial Updates

You do not have to revoke the entire APP to make a change. You can execute an amendment that adds, removes, or modifies specific provisions while leaving the rest intact. The amendment must be witnessed and signed to the same standard as the original plan.

However, partial amendments create complexity over time. If you have made multiple amendments, decision-makers and clinicians must read the original plan plus every amendment to understand the current state of your wishes. A complete replacement avoids this paper trail.

When NTCAT Gets Involved

If a maker lacks capacity and a family member or healthcare provider believes the APP no longer reflects the maker's current circumstances, they can apply to NTCAT. The tribunal can review, vary, or revoke an APP — but only on specific grounds, such as evidence that the maker would have changed their wishes if they could, or that a decision-maker is not acting in the maker's interests.

NTCAT applications under the Advance Personal Planning Act are free. Emergency hearings for urgent medical situations can be scheduled within days.

Planning for the Update

Our Northern Territory Advance Directive & Living Will Kit includes a revocation and update checklist that tracks every notification step, plus guidance on when a capacity assessment is worth getting and how to structure Advance Consent Decisions that remain clear even as your clinical situation evolves.

See more Northern Territory guides →