What is advance care planning?
Te whakamahere tiaki i mua i te wā taumaha
Advance care planning
Advance care planning is a process of thinking and talking about your values and goals and what your preferences are for your current and future health care.
What is important to you?
We encourage you to write down what is important to you, what concerns you and what your care preferences are in an advance care plan. This will make it much easier for everyone to know what matters to you – especially if you can no longer speak for yourself.
An advance care plan can also cover what sort of funeral you would like, where your important papers are, who you want involved in discussions about your health and any advance directives.
An advance directive is your consent or refusal to treatments which may or may not be offered in the future, if you no longer have capacity to communicate your wishes.
Advance care planning in five steps
Advance care planning can be approached one step at a time. We have developed a five-step process for you.
The important first steps are thinking and talking about advance care planning. After that, it is helpful to write the key points down in a plan so you can share your wishes with others.
The value of advance care planning is in the conversations and the shared understanding that is developed, and in the regular review of your plans.
The five steps
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What do you need to think about?
• What is important to you and gives your life meaning?
• Are there any treatments or types of care that you would or wouldn't want?
• Who would you want to make decisions on your behalf if you weren't able to?
• If there was a choice, how and where would you like to spend your last days?
Resources:
Whenua ki te whenua – an advance care planning guide for whānau
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Who do you need to talk to about it?
Once you have thought through some of the issues, it’s a good idea to talk about them. Then others will know what is important to you and what you would like to happen, especially if you’re not able to speak for yourself.
Who would it be good to share your thoughts with?
• Family and whānau?
• Friends and loved ones?
• Doctors, specialists and health care team?
• Enduring Power of Attorney?
Resources:
Whenua ki te whenua – an advance care planning guide for whānau
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What do you need to write down?
When you know what's important to you, and what you want others to be clear about, it's a good idea to write it down. Then they can refer to it when you can't speak for yourself.
Having it in writing can save family and whānau (and health care teams) a lot of worry and concern if and when they have to make a decision on your behalf.
Resources:
My advance care plan and guide
Whenua ki te whenua – an advance care planning guide for whānau
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Who will you give it to?
Once you have written down what is important to you and what you want to happen, make sure you give a copy to:
• key family members and whānau
• your GP
• all members of your health care team
• your Enduring Power of Attorney (if you have one).
Each area in Aotearoa has a different process for uploading a completed advance care plan. To find out more about your area visit this page: Who can I contact in my area?
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When will you review it?
It’s great to have your plan written down and to have shared that with key people.
It’s also a good idea to review it regularly to make sure nothing has changed for you.
People find it useful to decide on a day to review it every year, like their birthday, Labour Day or at the time they do their tax return. When would be a good time for you to review it each year?
Our stories
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![A black and white photo of a Māori man. He is wearing glasses and a striped polo shirt and is smiling at the camera.]()
'It’s a plan that has been designed by me; not by the doctors, not by my children, but by me'
Arthur Te Anini
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![A black and white picture of a smiling man wearing sunglasses and a cap.]()
'To have the opportunity for one’s wishes to be honoured during the tender moment'
Noel Tiano
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![A black and white photo of a woman with short hair. She is wearing a cardigan and smiling at the camera.]()
'All the absolutely critical preparation just fell into place, and everything was completed as expected'
Cheryl Shearer
