Capacity and medical self-determination in Australia

The expansion of patients' rights and the increasing complexity of the science of medicine raises serious legal and social questions, particularly when they pertain to end-of-life decision-making. Medical science continues to find ways of maintaining or extending life in a body or mind affected by disease or trauma and regular advances in medical technology and practice mean that the natural course of illness or injury will rarely be uninterrupted by some form of medical intervention. This progressive "medicalisation" of death, together with enhanced patient autonomy, means that choices can increasingly be made regarding medical treatment which may ultimately influence both the time and the way in which a person dies. This article examines both legislation and the common law in Australia particularly as it pertains to medical decision-making at end-of-life and the patient's right of self-determination.