Consent (including where consent cannot be obtained) Guideline

Version 1.0 approved 28 March 2024

The Consent (including where consent cannot be obtained) Guideline (PDF 1,569KB) supports best practice in line with legislative and legal responsibilities in relation to consent and authority to provide medical treatment or health care.
Every person, 16 years or older, is presumed to be mentally competent to make decisions, unless there is clear evidence or knowledge to the contrary.

The Consent to Medical Treatment and Health Care Policy (PDF 320KB) is the parent policy to this Guideline.

Applicability

This Guideline applies to all medical and health practitioners within SA Health; that is all medical and health practitioners of the Department for Health and Wellbeing (DHW), Local Health Networks (LHNs) including state-wide services aligned with those Networks and SA Ambulance Service (SAAS), when providing medical treatment, medical assessment and/or health care.

For the purposes of this policy health practitioners includes all individuals practicing a health profession recognised under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) Act 2010 and any other health professional with direct or indirect clinical contact who are credentialed by a health service within SA Health.

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Last updated: 03 Apr 2024

Consent (including where consent cannot be obtained) Guideline

Applicability

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