Only 6% of Australians Complete Advance Directives, Fueling End-of-Life Disputes
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 17
Only 6% of Australians Complete Advance Directives, Fueling End-of-Life Disputes
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 17
Summary
A 2025 Advance Care Planning Australia study found only 33% of Australians have done any advance planning and just 6% have formally completed a legally binding advance care directive.
That gap can leave doctors and relatives guessing over ICU care, intubation, CPR and artificial feeding, sometimes resulting in treatment patients may never have wanted.
St Vincent’s palliative medicine chief Davinia Seah said family conflict is common when no directive or enduring guardian exists, and even completed documents can fail if hospitals cannot quickly access them.
Queensland and NSW cases in the report showed the practical stakes: one family avoided disputes because a father had ruled out life-sustaining treatment, while NSW retiree John Groves completed an ACD after repeated near-death episodes.
The report frames advance directives as both medical instructions and a way to record values, preferred decision-makers and organ-donation wishes before capacity is lost.