South Australians are being urged to ensure their wishes for future care and end of life are legally recorded in a statewide campaign for Plan Ahead Week.

Planning ahead in the event of illness or sudden incapacitation, can provide peace of mind and legal protection, yet a landmark national study – the ACP Prevalence Research Project – found that 70 per cent of people aged 65 and over have no advance care planning in place.

Addressing these alarming statistics is at the heart of Plan Ahead Week 2024 (9 to 15 September), which encourages all adults to discuss their financial, health, legal and personal wishes with loved ones, and document their decisions using legal tools.

It is now easier than ever to legally record your wishes, with significant improvements made to the Advance Care Directive kit and process, and a record 63 collection points across the state to access a free hard copy.

Plan Ahead Week aims to raise awareness of the key legal tools that support advance care planning, including:

*Advance Care Directives – to plan future health care, lifestyle and accommodation choices
*Enduring Power of Attorney – to appoint someone to manage your financial and legal affairs if you become incapacitated
*Wills – to nominate who your property and possessions go to after your death
* Organ and tissue donor registration – to let your family and doctors know you want to be a donor.

Advance care planning can alleviate stress by providing loved ones with guidance on finances, property, health care, family care, pets and living arrangements if someone is no longer able to make decisions for themselves.

In South Australia, an Advance Care Directive can be created for free, either through the online form at www.advancecaredirectives.sa.gov.au or by collecting a hardcopy kit from one of 63 collection points across the state, including Service SA centres, local MP offices, libraries, and community centres.

More than 1,000 South Australians have made use of the new and improved online form, which was introduced in March 2024 in addition to thousands who have made hard copy versions of their will. The document now enables the use of digital signatures for Substitute Decision-Makers and interpreters, a feature that can help obtain required signatures faster, especially if signatories are located interstate or overseas.

At present, the Public Trustee holds more than 91,000 wills and has been averaging approximately 22 new wills each month for the last few years.

In 2023-24, the Legal Services Commission provided legal advice on 2,765 occasions relating to wills, Enduring Power of Guardianship, Enduring Power of Attorney and Advanced Care Directives – either through face-to-face meetings or the Commission’s Telephone Advice Line.

The Plan Ahead Week awareness campaign will run statewide on radio, print and digital platforms, with the tagline: Speak for yourself. Make your wishes clear.

For more information and to plan ahead, visit www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/planahead

Quotes

Attributable to Nat Cook

Don’t leave your loved ones to deal with difficult decisions you could have made when you were able – let this be the week you plan ahead.

Providing clear guidance ahead of time is the best way to ensure your wishes are honoured, as sadly sudden accidents or illness can strike at any time.

We know that a significant portion of the population aged over 65 have no advance care planning in place, which can leave them exposed in the event they are no longer able to speak for themself.

It is now easier than ever to have your wishes legally recorded and I encourage South Australians to take this week as a strong reminder to plan ahead.

Attributable to Gabrielle Canny, CEO, Legal Services Commission

As the largest provider of legal help in South Australia, Legal Services delivers over 150,000 legal assistance services each year – including advice on wills, Enduring Power of Attorney and Advanced Care Directives.

Planning ahead is really a gift to your children and family – we strongly encourage South Australians to give our free Legal Helpline a call on 1300 366 424 for advice on these important end of life planning decisions.

Legal Services also delivers community legal education sessions on planning ahead, and demand for these sessions continues to grow. We would urge any community groups who would like to book a session to get in touch through our website at lsc.sa.gov.au.

We commend the State Government and all the other agencies and groups involved with Plan Ahead Week – it’s crucial that we continue to raise awareness of the legal tools available, so that South Australians’ wishes and choices can be known and respected by their loved ones.

Attributable to Jane Pickering, Chief Executive, Eldercare

Eldercare recognises palliative care as an integral part of the care we provide.

Our aspiration is to provide our residents with a comfortable and dignified experience that respects their choices, particularly in the last months of life.

We have a well-developed palliative care approach which includes end of life planning.

We know that Advance Care Plans improve end of life care as they enable a person’s prior wishes to be known should they lose decision-making capacity.

Over 87% of residents at Eldercare have an Advance Care Plan compared to the national average of 37.7% in the aged care sector generally.