Values, Wishes, and Preferences
PLANNING FOR LIFE TRANSITIONS
Why Your Plan is Important
This guide shows you how planning helps you stay in charge of your life. It can help you feel calm and not worried. It is about making sure people know what you want.
You Stay in Charge: This is about doing things for yourself and making your own choices. You get to choose how you want to live.
You Help Your Family: When you plan, your family knows how to help you. They won't have to guess what you want.
You Are Ready for Changes: Sometimes life changes. You might go to the hospital or move to an aged care home. Planning helps you get ready for these times.
Your Action: Before you keep reading, take a moment to think about this sentence:
"The most important thing for people to know about me is: ____________"
Thinking about your answer will help you with the rest of this guide.
A Gift to Yourself and Your Family
Thinking about the future can feel like a big job. But it is a kind and smart thing to do. When you plan, you help yourself and the people who love you.
This guide helps you write down your story. You can write about what makes you happy and what is important to you. When these things are written down, people will always know what you want. This helps you and them feel calm.
What are Values, Wishes, and Likes?
These three words are the main parts of your plan.
Your Values: These are the things that are most important to you. Things like doing things for yourself, being close to family, feeling safe, or your faith.
Your Wishes: These are your big hopes for the future. For example, you might wish to stay in your own home for as long as you can.
Your Likes (Preferences): These are the small things that make you happy each day! It could be your favourite music, the food you love, or what you do every day.
What Matters Most to Me
First, think about what you care about most. What makes you feel happy and safe?
It could be things like:
Making your own choices.
Being near family and friends.
Feeling respected and comfortable.
Your faith or your community.
Being known for being kind or for your laugh.
When you know what you care about, it helps you choose other things.
My Wishes for My Health
It is good to think about your health for the future. This helps your family and doctors. It also helps your Enduring Guardian. That is the person you choose to make health decisions for you if you can't.
Your Health Goals: If you got very sick, what would be more important to you? To try every treatment to live longer? Or to be comfortable and free from pain?
Being Comfortable: You can say that you want help for any pain. This tells your doctors that being comfortable is very important to you.
My Wishes for My Life and Money
Thinking about your money helps you keep living the way you like. This helps your Attorney. That is the person you choose to look after your money if you can't.
Your Ideas About Money: Are you careful with money? Or do you like to spend it to enjoy life?
Things That Make You Happy: What fun things do you want to keep doing? (like hobbies, seeing friends, or going on trips).
Gifts: Do you want to keep giving gifts to family for birthdays? Do you want to keep giving to groups you like to help?
Making Your Plan Work
Planning for "What Ifs"
Life can change. It helps to think about "what if" something happens. This helps the people you chose know what to do.
What if I can't live at home by myself anymore? Would you want to move to an aged care home near your family? How will you pay for it?
What if I need a lot of help at home? Would you want to spend more money on getting care, or on doing fun things?
What if I get sick suddenly? How would this change how you spend money on fun things like holidays?
My Likes for My Daily Life
The small things in life are often the big things. What does a good day look like for you?
What time do you like to wake up and go to bed?
What music, TV shows, or books do you like?
Do you like to have visitors, or do you need quiet time?
What are your favourite foods that make you feel good?
This helps people make you feel comfortable and at home.
My Thoughts on My Final Days
This is a personal topic. Thinking about it can help make sure your last days are peaceful. You can write down your wishes for comfort care (palliative care). You can also write down any wishes about your faith. You can find more help at Palliative Care Australia. If you want to be an organ donor, you can sign up at DonateLife.
How to Start in 3 Easy Steps
Find a Quiet Time: Sit in a comfy spot where you can think.
Use Our Templates: We have templates with questions to help you write your story.
DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE: MY PERSONAL VALUES STATEMENT
Talk About It: You can talk to family, a friend, or your doctor about your thoughts.
Important Note: This is a Guide, Not a Legal Paper
This is very important. The plan you make with this guide is to share your personal story. It is not a legal paper. It is not a rule from the law that people must follow it.
You also need legal papers like an Enduring Power of Attorney (for money) and an Advance Care Directive (for health care).
This guide is like a "handbook about you." It helps the people you choose make good choices for you. Please refer to Making Good Decisions with Your Support Network.
For help with legal papers, please see !SELF-HELP GUIDE: Setting Up Legal Directives & Instructions.
Where to Get More Help
My Aged Care: For help with aged care services from the government.
Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN): For free help to understand your rights.
Healthdirect Australia: For good health information online.
You've Made a Great Plan!
Well done! You have done a great job to stay in charge of your life. By writing down what you want, you have given a gift to the people you love. Keep this guide in a safe place. Tell your family where it is, and remember to look at it every year or so to make sure it is still what you want.
Disclaimer: This guide provides general information only and is not a substitute for professional advice. The information is provided "as is," without any guarantee of its accuracy or completeness.
Any action you take based on the contents of this guide is at your own risk. We are not liable for any loss or damage resulting from its use. Please consult a qualified professional to address your individual circumstances.