The law regulating medical end-of-life decisions aims to support patients to receive high-quality health care. It does so through ensuring treatment received reflects the person’s wishes and values and protecting health professionals who provide adequate pain and symptom relief even if that...

The principle of self determination in the context of medical decision making is an important one. For many years now, the common law has recognised that a person can give a directive about a health matter that may be effective if that person later loses capacity to make the decision. The...

This article examines the law in Australia and New Zealand that governs the withholding and withdrawal of ‘futile’ life-sustaining treatment. Although doctors have both civil and criminal law duties to treat patients, those general duties do not require the provision of treatment that is...

This paper reports on mixed method empirical research undertaken with individuals who have completed advance health directives (‘principals’) and doctors who have either attested to the principal’s capacity when the document was completed or been called upon to use these documents in...

Background: For the benefits of advance care planning to be realised during a hospital admission, the treating team must have accurate knowledge of the law pertaining to implementation of advance care directives (ACDs) and substitute decision making.Aims: To determine in a sample of Junior...

Background: Junior medical doctors have a key role in discussions and decisions about treatment and end-of-life care for people with dementia in hospital. Little is known about junior doctors’ decision-making processes when treating people with dementia who have advance care directives (ACDs),...

Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify online resources community members may access to inform themselves about their legal duties and rights in end-of-life decision making. Methods: Resource mapping identified online resources that members of the public in New South Wales,...

Australians living in regional and remote communities face several barriers when accessing high quality health care. Voluntary assisted dying (VAD), a new and sensitive end-of-life option, presents a new challenge for residents living in these communities. Western Australia (WA) is the second...