63Medical treatment decisions if there is no advance care directive and no medical treatment decision maker

63 Medical treatment decisions if there is no advance care directive and no medical treatment decision maker

(1) If a health practitioner proposes to administer medical treatment to a person who does not have decision-making capacity in respect of that medical treatment and, despite having complied with section 50, has not been able to locate an advance care directive or a medical treatment decision maker for that person—

(a) if the medical treatment is routine treatment, the health practitioner may administer that routine treatment without consent; or

(b) if the medical treatment is significant treatment, the health practitioner may only administer that significant treatment if the Public Advocate consents under subsection (2).

(2) If a health practitioner seeks the consent of the Public Advocate to administer significant treatment to a person, the Public Advocate may consent to or refuse the significant treatment in accordance with section 61 as if the Public Advocate were the person's medical treatment decision maker.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply at any time that the person is a mental health patient.

Division 3—Applications to VCAT