Advance Care Directive Information Sessions were rolled out across the Adelaide Hills and Mount Barker regions in 2024.

There may be a time in your life when you can’t make your own decisions. This could be because of a sudden accident or illness. An Advance Care Directive is a crucial legal document that allows individuals to plan for their future health care, end-of-life preferences, living arrangements, and other personal matters in case they become unable to make decisions due to illness or accident.

To support community members in understanding and completing these directives, the Adelaide Hills Council and Mount Barker District Council partnered to deliver a series of free Advance Care Directive Information Sessions in 2024. This initiative was supported by Office for Ageing Well.

The sessions aimed to increase awareness and confidence among participants in completing Advance Care Directive forms. Over 30 information sessions were held at various locations across the Adelaide Hills and Mount Barker regions. Online sessions and presentations to community groups and organisations further expanded accessibility and outreach.

Beyond these sessions, the project has focused on strengthening an online toolkit to consolidate resources, learnings, and best practices. This user-friendly and accessible toolkit is designed to guide other local government authorities in South Australia in fostering community engagement around Advance Care Directives. The toolkit will include training resources and other materials developed throughout the project.

Additionally, a video series titled ‘You Can Ask That’ has been recently produced to address the top ten questions about Advance Care Directives, as identified through community feedback. This video series and the online toolkit will serve as lasting resources to support ongoing education and engagement.

Details of the online toolkit will be made available later this year.

For further information regarding Advance Care Directive project in the hills regions please contact Julie Wilhelm by emailing jwilhelm@ahc.sa.gov.au or by phoning 0438 414 363.

The Advance Care Directive Adelaide Hills project is supported by Office for Ageing Well.