Medical treatment

Patient consent

• Patient capacity to consent
• Emergency treatment
• Significant treatment
• Routine treatment
• Interpreting an instructional directive
• Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016
• Guideline on the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine
• When a person lacks capacity to undertake advance care planning

Video: Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016

This presentation for health practitioners explains advance care planning under the new Act and the medical consent process for a patient who does not have decision-making capacity.

Medical forms

• Request the Public Advocate to make a medical treatment decision (Section 63 form)
• Notify the Public Advocate that a medical treatment decision maker has refused significant treatment (Section 62 form)
• Medical research procedures
• Request the Public Advocate to make a medical treatment decision re: COVID-19 vaccine (Section 63 form)

Medical treatment decision makers

If you are a person’s medical treatment decision maker, you have legal authority to make medical treatment decisions for them. You only have authority to do this if the person does not have capacity to make the medical treatment decision.

Mental health treatment

Transition issues from compulsory treatment under the Mental Health Act 2014 to medical treatment decisions by medical treatment decision maker under the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016

End of life treatment

Health practitioners are not required to administer futile or non-beneficial medical treatment. 

Palliative care treatment

Palliative care, for the relief of a patient's suffering, is treated differently from other forms of medical treatment

Children under 18 years

Unlike adults, people under the age of 18 years (minors) are not presumed to have the decision-making capacity.