What is medical consent?

Registered doctors and dentists (practitioners) cannot treat a patient without valid agreement (called consent) from the patient to undertake the treatment.

A person over the age of 18 can consent to treatment or refuse medical treatment if they can understand the practitioner's information about the proposed treatment and can make reasonable choices based on this information. This is called capacity. If a person lacks this capacity another person must make decisions on their behalf.

When is consent not needed?

The only time consent is not needed is where:

• There is a medical or dental emergency.
  This means treatment is needed to prevent death, serious damage to the patient's health, or suffering from significant pain or distress.
• The treatment is minor. For example a visual examination of the patient's mouth, providing first aid, or the administration of a prescribed drug within recommended dosages.

What if the person who needs treatment cannot give consent?

If a patient cannot consent to their own treatment, the practitioner can obtain consent from the 'person responsible'.

If there is no person responsible, the dentist or medical practitioner must submit a Section 42K Notice to the Office of the Public Advocate.

If the medical procedure is being carried out for the purposes of medical research, the practitioner must submit a Section 42T Certificate to the Office of the Public Advocate.

Find out more

Visit our Medical Consent Publications section for fact sheets, guides and application forms.