Difference Between Enduring Guardian and an Advance Health Care Directive in NSW
The difference between an Enduring Guardian and an Advance Health Care Directive (often called an Advance Care Directive or Living Will) lies in their purpose, scope, and how they function in making decisions about a person’s health and welfare.
Enduring Guardian
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An Enduring Guardian is a person you legally appoint to make decisions on your behalf about personal and lifestyle matters if you lose the capacity to make those decisions yourself. This can include decisions about where you live, what health care you receive, and other personal matters.
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The Enduring Guardian can make a broad range of decisions, including consent to medical treatment, choosing where you live, and deciding about your day-to-day care. The scope of their decision-making powers can be specified when you appoint them.
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The Enduring Guardian’s role is activated only if you lose the ability to decide for yourself (e.g., due to illness, accident, or incapacity). You must be mentally competent at the time of appointing an Enduring Guardian.
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You can revoke the appointment of an Enduring Guardian at any time while you still have capacity.
Advance Health Care Directive
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An Advance Health Care Directive is a legal document where you specify your preferences for medical treatment and health care in case you become unable to communicate or make decisions in the future. It is your way of making your wishes known in advance.
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The directive typically covers specific medical treatments or procedures you would or would not want to be used, such as resuscitation, life support, or specific interventions in critical situations. It may also include preferences for end-of-life care.
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The Advance Health Care Directive comes into effect if you cannot make or communicate your own decisions, and it guides doctors and healthcare providers in your care. It is a way to ensure that your wishes are respected even when you cannot express them yourself.
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You can modify or revoke an Advance Health Care Directive at any time while you are mentally capable.
Key Differences
Decision-Maker
Control
Breadth of Decisions
Enduring Guardian
An Enduring Guardian is a person who makes decisions on your behalf.
With an Enduring Guardian, another person makes decisions based on your best interests and any instructions you’ve given them.
An Enduring Guardian can make decisions on a broader range of personal matters, not just health care.
Advanced Health Care Directive
An Advance Health Care Directive is a document that outlines your own choices regarding specific healthcare situations.
An Advance Health Care Directive directly records your choices, which healthcare providers must follow.
An Advance Health Care Directive focuses explicitly on medical treatment and healthcare decisions.
In summary
An Enduring Guardian is a person you appoint to make decisions for you if you're incapacitated. In contrast, an Advance Health Care Directive is a document that outlines your specific healthcare wishes.
An Enduring Guardian is an essential component of any estate plan. It avoids the need, delay and expense of Tribunal proceedings if you should lose capacity. An Advance Health Care Directive will assist your Enduring Guardian to make the right decisions for you in that circumstance.
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