📝 Contract Template

Patient Consent Form Template

Treatment consent with risks, alternatives, privacy acknowledgment. AHPRA compliant.

What informed consent documentation should record

• The specific procedure or treatment, named, not a general category
• The material risks discussed, including those significant to this particular patient
• The alternatives discussed, including the option of no treatment
• Expected benefits, and what recovery involves
• Costs, and any gap the patient will pay
• Who will perform the procedure, and whether anyone else may be involved
• The patient’s opportunity to ask questions, and that they were answered
• Signature, date and time, and the practitioner who obtained consent

The form is evidence of a conversation, not a substitute for one

Consent in Australian law is about what was discussed, understood and agreed — the signed form only records that it happened. A form signed at the desk on the way in, without the discussion, provides very little protection. The duty extends to risks a reasonable person in this patient’s position would consider significant, which means the conversation is patient-specific even when the form is not.

• Obtain consent far enough ahead that the patient can reflect, not at the door of the theatre
• Note anything this patient raised as a particular concern, and what you told them
• Use an interpreter where needed, and record that you did

Capacity, substitute decision-makers and privacy

• Assess and record capacity where there is any doubt; the rules for substitute consent are set by state law
• For minors, follow the requirements that apply in your state and to the treatment in question
• Handle the form under the Privacy Act and your professional obligations — it is a health record

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General information only — not legal, tax or financial advice. For contracts and tax documents, confirm your obligations with a qualified professional or the relevant authority.