Advance Health Directive in Queensland: how to make one

An Advance Health Directive records your wishes about future health care, so they can be followed if you can no longer make or communicate decisions yourself. This guide covers how it works in Queensland. For the general picture, see our guide to advance care directives in Australia.

The form

Queensland uses the Advance Health Directive (Form 4). Read the Form 10 explanatory guide before you begin, and use Form 8 if you need extra pages. A new version of the form was approved on 30 November 2020. If you made a valid directive on an older form, it continues to be valid. You can download the form free, or buy a paper copy from a Queensland newsagent or stationery supplier.

Queensland also has a Statement of Choices form. It records your wishes too, but it is the only one of these forms that isn't legally binding.

The doctor's part

A doctor or nurse practitioner needs to assess your capacity to make the directive and sign the form. They may charge a consultation fee. It's a good chance to talk through the treatments you're thinking about.

Signing and witnessing

After the doctor or nurse practitioner has signed, you sign the form in front of an eligible witness: a justice of the peace, commissioner for declarations, notary public or lawyer. The witness must be present when you sign and certify that you appeared to understand the document. The witness doesn't need to sign in front of the doctor, and it doesn't have to happen on the same day. If you name attorneys for health matters in the form, they sign it too.

After it's signed

You don't have to lodge or register your Advance Health Directive. Queensland Health's Statewide Office of Advance Care Planning can add a copy to your Queensland Health record, so hospitals can see it: contact them on 1300 007 227 or acp@health.qld.gov.au. You can also upload it to your My Health Record.

Keep the original somewhere safe and easy to find, give copies to the people who may need them, and write down where it is kept. Our guide to storing important documents has more on this. Review it from time to time, especially if your health changes.

Sources

• Queensland Government: Advance care planning forms (checked November 2026)
• Queensland Government: Queensland advance care planning forms (My Care, My Choices) (checked November 2026)

This guide is general information only, not legal or financial advice.