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Home Care Clinical Care Assess Your Knowledge Organisational SupportResidential Aged Care Assess Your Knowledge Clinical Care Organisational SupportEnd of Life Law Toolkit Capacity and Consent to Medical Treatment Factsheet: Advance Care Directives Futile or Non-Beneficial Treatment Legal Protection for Administering Pain and Symptom Relief Managing Disputes about Medical Treatment Decision-Making Substitute Decision-Making Urgent Medical Treatment Voluntary Assisted Dying Withholding and Withdrawing Life-Sustaining Medical Treatment Overview of End of Life Law in Australia Advance Care DirectivesHome Care Residential Aged Care End of Life Law ToolkitCapacity and Consent to Medical Treatment Factsheet: Advance Care Directives Futile or Non-Beneficial Treatment Legal Protection for Administering Pain and Symptom Relief Managing Disputes about Medical Treatment Decision-Making Substitute Decision-Making Urgent Medical Treatment Voluntary Assisted Dying Withholding and Withdrawing Life-Sustaining Medical Treatment Overview of End of Life Law in Australia Advance Care DirectivesDementia Toolkit Education Other Toolkits
Substitute Decision-Making
As a person ages, they sometimes lose their ability to make decisions about health care. When this happens, those decisions will need to be made by a substitute decision-maker. The factsheet in this section explains the law on substitute decision-making. You will also find a case study, mythbusters and other resources about the law in this area.
Supported decision-making
It may be possible for an older person with a cognitive impairment to make their own medical treatment and health care decisions if they are provided with appropriate support. Learn about supported decision-making for medical treatment, and how it is different to substitute decision-making in this factsheet from End of Life Law for Clinicians.
This guide for substitute decision-makers (pdf) discusses how to make health care decisions for someone who cannot make decisions for themselves. Developed by End of Life Law for Clinicians, health professionals and aged care providers can share this guide with families and decision-makers, to support substitute decision-making.An online training module on this topic is available through the End of Life Law for Clinicians training program. To learn more about the training or to register visit the ELLC online training portal.Page updated 28 September 2026
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