Important Note:
A new advance health directive (AHD) was launched in Western Australia on 22 August 2022.
The Guardianship and Administration Act 1990 that governs AHDs has not changed, so the principles behind an AHD remain the same. For this reason the video presentation below by Dr Simon Towler is still well worth watching, but the second video presentation by Dinny Laurence, which related to the old form, is now obsolete and so it has been deleted. The sample form previously provided has also been removed from the website, as have the FAQs relating to the old form.
There is a new tab entitled 'New AHD' under 'Resources' in the main menu: an updated sample form, and updated FAQs can be found there.
Because the length of the new AHD and the Departmental guide to its completion are somewhat daunting, DWDWA has provided a shortened version of the new form, and a two-page document entitled "Things to consider when making an AHD" also under the 'New AHD' tab. The "hierarchy of decision makers" is also provided.
We strongly recommend that you have a look at these documents before completing the new form. In particular you will find the FAQs helpful, especially paragraph 10, that explains the main differences between the old form and the new form, and paragraph 11, that sets out the changes to the new form made by DWDWA, and why we believe them to be necessary.
Dr Simon Towler was the guest speaker at DWDWA’s second workshop on 16 September 2020 on the subject of Advance Health Directives. Amongst many other roles, Dr Towler was formerly the Chief Medical Officer of Western Australia and the State President of the Australian Medical Association. As a member of the Ministerial Expert Panel on Voluntary Assisted Dying in 2018, and in his current position as the End of Life Care Clinical Lead with the Department of Health, he is particularly well placed to speak on this subject.
You can watch the video of Workshop 2 below.
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