Please note: this event is now fully booked. Options for providing an additional session are being explored.

The new Advance Care Directives Act 2013 (SA): one-day workshop for health professionals who assist people with dementia: We are now Booked Out for this event.

Decision making in advance and putting enduring powers in place are important for everyone, but particularly for people with dementia.

Understanding the new law and practice associated with advance care directives and the role of  the Guardianship Board, including the new Tribunal (SACAT), is an essential part of the role of health professionals.  However, many health professionals are unable to assist their clients with advance care planning as they do not understand the law and issues involved.  This workshop can help.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the ethical and legal principles which underpin advance directives in South Australia, including the new documents under the Advance Care Directives Act 2013, which commenced 1 July 2014;
• Understand the process of completing the documents, including access to legal information and witnessing;
• Identify the issues and barriers that inhibit people from completing the documents before the loss of capacity;
• Identify the different legal and policy documents in South Australia;
• Discuss the complexities and issues for families when a person loses decision making capacity.
• Understand the role of the Guardianship Board and the new South Australian  Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT), which commenced in September 2014, as well as the Public Advocate.

Register for this event now

About the presenters:

Margaret Brown is a social scientist and a consultant in advance care planning and bio-ethics. She is a Research Fellow with the Hawke Research Institute, University of South Australia and the School of Medicine, University of Adelaide.

Her research over many years has focused on advance care directives, resuscitation and decision making at the end of life. She was the Deputy Chair of the South Australian Advance Directive Review Committee, and the End-of-Life Working Group with SA Health.

Margaret has been involved with the Palliative Care Council since its inception and continues to work towards improving the care of people who are dying.  Margaret has served on the Guardianship Board and currently works with the Public Advocate (SA) on the Supported Decision Making Project.

She has run seminars on advance directives for Alzheimer’s Australia for many years. In 2013 she was appointed by the SA Minister of Health to the End-of-Life Ministerial Advisory Committee.

Lin Gilfillan (LLB. LLM, Diploma of Legal Practice) has been in private legal practice for 25 years, and has a particular interest in civil litigation, advance directives and end-of-life decision making. She has also taught at the University of South Australia, University of Adelaide and Law Society of South Australia.

Lin was appointed to the Guardianship Board in 1999, was acting   President in 2007-2008 and has sat in both the general division and appeal divisions. She takes up her appointment as part-time senior member of the South Australian Civil and Administrative     Tribunal (SACAT) on 16^th March 2015.

In 2010, Lin was invited to contribute as a member of the SA Health, End-of-Life Decision Making Project and continued in that role until 2012.  She was also the  Convenor of the Council of Australasian Tribunals SA Chapter, previously serving as a   committee member and Vice Convenor. This is a representative body for Board and Tribunal members, providing ongoing education and support.  Lin stepped down from that role in 2013 and continues to contribute as a committee member.