Medicolegal aspects of end-of-life care
Consent and refusal at the end of life, the cases that define Australian law, futility and non-beneficial treatment, proxy decision-makers and the statutory hierarchies, legal protection for palliative care, and voluntary assisted dying law in 2026 including the NT Act, Victoria's 2027 amendments and the Commonwealth telehealth problem.
Tier 1Topic overview
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- A capable adult may refuse any treatment, including life-sustaining treatment. Treating against a valid refusal is battery.
- A valid, applicable advance refusal binds after capacity is lost (Hunter and New England v A, 2009).
- Doctors aren't obliged to provide non-beneficial ("futile") treatment, even on request (Messiha, 2004), but must communicate and document.
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Sources
- Advance Care Planning Australia - law and ethics by state and territoryAU/NZAdvance Care Planning Australia (Austin Health)
- ANZCOR Guidance Statement 10.5.3: Legal and ethical issues related to resuscitation - withholding and withdrawal of resuscitationAU/NZAustralian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation, Current at November 2026
- Hunter and New England Area Health Service v A [2009] NSWSC 761AU/NZSupreme Court of New South Wales, 2009
- Brightwater Care Group (Inc) v Rossiter [2009] WASC 229AU/NZSupreme Court of Western Australia, 2009
- Messiha v South East Health [2004] NSWSC 1061AU/NZSupreme Court of New South Wales, 2004
- Gardner; re BWV [2003] VSC 173AU/NZSupreme Court of Victoria, 2003
- Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act 1995 (SA)AU/NZSouth Australian Government
- Voluntary assisted dying: upcoming changes to the Victorian Act (commencing 19 April 2027)AU/NZVictorian Department of Health, Amendments passed 18 November 2025
- Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia (sections 3.4.6 to 3.4.7 and 4.13)AU/NZMedical Board of Australia, In effect from 1 October 2020
- Re Herrington; Re King [2007] VSC 151AU/NZSupreme Court of Victoria, 2007
- Carr v Attorney-General (Cth) [2023] FCA 1500AU/NZFederal Court of Australia, 2023
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
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