You, your doctor and other people involved in your care will work together to discuss your needs, hopes and preferences for your care into the future. This involves knowing what choices you have at your end of life.
NSW’s health care system will care for you whatever choice you make.
Voluntary assisted dying may be one choice you have. If you choose voluntary assisted dying you will still be able to access other care you might need, including palliative care.
The Journey to Dreaming Toolkit is available to guide Aboriginal people through the end of life care.
It incorporates storytelling, artwork, mindfulness and practical activities to help prepare for the end of life journey.
Advance care planning involves thinking about your values, wishes and preferences and may include discussing the type of health care you would want to receive if you became seriously ill or injured. It is a good idea to discuss your planning wishes with your family and medical team.
An advance care directive is a document recording a person’s preferences for future health care. A valid advance care directive is legally binding and must be followed. Making an advance care directive is part of advance care planning.
To access voluntary assisted dying, you must retain decision-making capacity and the ability to communicate requests and decisions throughout the entire process. Because an advance care directive only comes into effect when you no longer have capacity, you cannot access voluntary assisted dying by requesting it in an advance care directive.