This is a question we hear often. If you’ve explored our new website, you might notice something missing – we no longer use the term “advance care plan”.
This wasn’t accidental – we’ve made a considered decision to avoid using it. While it has been in use since the publication of the National framework for advance care planning documents in 2021, we’ve found that its use leads to significant confusion. Here’s why.
What does “advance care plan” actually mean?
Some people use this term to mean a document that captures a person’s wishes and preferences but is not an advance care directive. Others use it to refer to documents that are prepared on behalf of a person with impaired decision-making capacity.
In most cases, documents are not labelled as an “Advance Care Plan”. And if they are, for example if aged care services or other organisations create their own documents with this title, the status and weight of the document is often unclear.
It can also be confusing for people trying to understand what documents they can complete, if they can’t actually find any document called an advance care plan.
A clearer, more accurate approach
Advance care planning varies across Australia, and document names differ by state and territory. You might encounter titles like:
- Statement of Choices
- Values and Preferences Statement
- Advance Care Directive
- Appointment of Substitute Decision Maker
We’ve also updated our document for people with impaired decision making, which is now called “Values and preferences statement for a person with impaired decision-making capacity.”
Our approach emphasises that advance care planning is a process. It may or may not involve formal documents. We prefer to talk about “advance care planning documents”, which includes advance care directives and appointment of substitute decision makers as well as values and preferences statements.
So, what is an advance care plan?
It’s a good question and that’s the point! It might be any number of things. We invite you to take a step back, consider advance care planning as a process, and consider what different types of documents might be included as part of that process.
Want to learn more?