Advance care planning in New Zealand
An advance care plan is a written record of what matters to you and the health care you would or would not want if you could not speak for yourself. The national programme describes advance care planning as "a process of thinking and talking about your values and goals and what your preferences are for your current and future health care" (myacp.org.nz). The plan is free, needs no lawyer, and can be changed at any time. It is not an enduring power of attorney, and it does not deal with money or property.
What an advance care plan is
New Zealand's advance care planning programme moved to Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora in July 2024, having previously been run by the Health Quality & Safety Commission (myacp.org.nz). It offers a standard form, "My advance care plan", and guides to help you fill it in. The plan is a place to write down:
- what is meaningful to you, such as people, pets and values
- how you would like your spiritual and emotional needs looked after
- the treatment and care you would or would not want if you could not tell people yourself
- what kind of funeral you would like, whether you want to donate organs, and whether you prefer burial or cremation
- where your important papers are, and whether you have an enduring power of attorney or an advance directive
The last two points are from the programme's list of what a plan can cover (myacp.org.nz: Questions and answers). The same page says that in New Zealand "the information you have written in your advance care plan has legal standing", which it explains as meaning your health care team has a responsibility to take your stated wishes into consideration when planning your care or suggesting treatment options.
How to make one, in five steps
The programme sets out a five-step process (myacp.org.nz: What is advance care planning?).
- Think. What gives your life meaning? Are there treatments or care you would or would not want? Who would you want to make decisions for you? If you had a choice, how and where would you like to spend your last days?
- Talk. Speak with family and whānau, friends, your doctor or specialist and health care team, and anyone you have appointed as enduring power of attorney. The programme says the value lies "in the conversations and the shared understanding", and in regular review.
- Write. Put the key points in a plan. "My advance care plan" is a fillable PDF you can complete electronically, or you can print it and write by hand. Download and save it to your computer first, because the programme warns the form will not save if you fill it in inside your web browser. Free printed copies can be ordered through the site.
- Share. Give a copy to key family and whānau, your GP, everyone on your health care team and your enduring power of attorney if you have one. Take a copy with you to planned hospital admissions.
- Review. Choose a regular date, such as your birthday, to check it still reflects your wishes. The programme suggests reviewing it annually.
Part of the form is about specific treatment and care preferences ("section 6"). The programme says it is a good idea to have a health professional help you with that part.
Guides in other languages and for different needs
The programme offers more than one starting point. "Whenua ki te whenua" is an advance care planning guide for whānau, co-designed with a Māori advisory group, and is available in English and te reo Māori. "Tōfā Fetāla'i" was created with the Samoan community, and there is an easy-read plan developed for and by people with learning (intellectual) disabilities, called "My plan for a good life, right to the end". There are also materials in Korean (myacp.org.nz: Your plan).
Where the plan is kept
The programme says a plan must be accessible to your health care team and whānau. With your consent your doctor can forward it to others involved in your care. In some parts of the country it can be made available electronically, and the programme says most districts are working towards this. In the meantime, give a copy to your GP and the health professionals you see regularly. Each area has its own process for uploading a completed plan, and the programme has a page, "Who can I contact in my area?", for local support. We could not find a single national register, so check the process in your region.
How it differs from an advance directive and an EPA
These are related but they are different documents.
| Advance care plan | Advance directive | EPA (personal care and welfare) | EPA (property) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Records your values, preferences and wishes | Consents to or refuses specific treatment in a future situation | Appoints someone to make care and welfare decisions if you cannot | Appoints someone to manage money and property |
| Who makes it | You | You; no one else can make it for you | You, naming an attorney | You, naming an attorney |
| Lawyer needed | No | No | Yes, a lawyer, legal executive or trustee corporation officer must witness | Yes, same |
| Legal weight | Has legal standing; must be considered | Binding if valid | Attorney decides within the limits of the law | Not about health care |
Sources: myacp.org.nz: Questions and answers; govt.nz: Create an enduring power of attorney; Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights, Right 7(5).
An advance directive can be part of your plan, a separate document or something you say aloud. It only applies when you cannot consent to the treatment being offered. The Code of Rights says "Every consumer may use an advance directive in accordance with the common law" (Right 7(5)) (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights, version as at 6 November 2021). Our page on advance directives covers when one is binding. A personal care and welfare enduring power of attorney chooses a person; read our power of attorney guide and the page on executor versus power of attorney.
One limit is worth stating plainly. An attorney cannot write your advance care plan or advance directive for you: "Only you can make your advance care plan or directive, no one else." And an attorney cannot, by law, refuse consent to standard medical treatment intended to save your life or prevent serious damage to your health. If you do not want CPR in some situations, govt.nz says you need to make an advance directive, because your attorneys must allow it.
What it cannot do
- It does not guarantee every wish is carried out. The programme gives the example of wanting to die at home when those closest to you cannot manage the care. Treatments that will not medically benefit you will not be provided, even if you ask for them.
- It does not cover money or property. For that, you need a property EPA and a will; see making a will.
- It does not decide your funeral. The executor has the final say on burial or cremation, whatever the will says, and tikanga Māori must be considered (Community Law: Choosing an executor). Writing your funeral wishes in your plan and telling your family still helps, because the executor can then follow them. See funeral wishes in a will and pre-planning a funeral.
Paying for what you write down
If your plan records funeral wishes, the money is a separate question. Options include savings, a prepaid funeral plan and funeral insurance. Funeral insurance pays a fixed benefit that may not cover the whole funeral, many policies pay only for accidental death in the first 12 to 24 months, and total premiums can end up larger than the benefit. See our funeral insurance hub for the comparison. The Work and Income Funeral Grant is up to $2,697.43, subject to its tests (Work and Income: Funeral Grant).
Changing your plan
You can add to your plan as often as you like and change your decisions at any time. Review it when your health or circumstances change. When you do, give the new version to the same people and ask them to replace the old copy.
If you or someone in your family is facing a serious illness, ask the health care team for help with the treatment section, as the programme suggests.
Adviser's view
An advance care plan costs nothing, needs no lawyer and can be changed whenever you like. Its value comes from the conversations with your family and health team, not the form. It does not appoint anyone to make decisions for you, and it does not manage money or property, so it works alongside an enduring power of attorney and a will rather than replacing either.
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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Advance Care Plan NZ: Template and Directives. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/estate/advance-care-plan-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.
References
- myacp.org.nz: Advance care planning (Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora programme)
- myacp.org.nz: What is advance care planning?
- myacp.org.nz: Questions and answers
- myacp.org.nz: Your plan
- Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights (Regulations 1996)
- govt.nz: Create an enduring power of attorney
- Community Law: Choosing an executor
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant
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