Accreditation practice pointer: End of Life Law Guide for Primary and Community Care

End of Life Law for Clinicians (ELLC) is a training program funded by the Australian Government to help primary care professionals navigate end of life decision-making laws. 

ELLC has published a new guide Meeting Quality and Practice Standards in Primary and Community Care, which details the relationship between the ELLC training modules and the Criteria from the Standards for general practices (5th edition).  

The ELLC program is made up of 13 modules, which cover the following topics, among others:

  • when consent to medical treatment is required

  • whether a person has decision-making capacity

  • when an Advance Care Directive must be followed

  • who is a person’s substitute decision-maker

  • when life-sustaining treatment may be withheld or withdrawn

  • administering pain and symptom relief

  • voluntary assisted dying.

ELLC is a RACGP-approved CPD activity under the RACGP CPD Program for 11 hours (8.5 Educational Activity hours and 2.5 Reviewing Performance hours). 

Completion of the ELLC modules by GPs and practice nurses can be used by General Practice as proof of training, quality improvement activity and for accreditation.

Margot Schoonmaker