Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts4. Power to make direction
(1) A person of sound mind who has attained the age of 18 years, and who desires not to be subjected to extraordinary measures in the event of his or her suffering from a terminal illness, may make a direction in the prescribed form.
(2) A direction under subsection (1) is of no effect unless witnessed by 2 witnesses who have attained the age of 18 years, neither of whom is the medical practitioner responsible for the treatment of the person.
(3) Subject to subsection (2), where a person who is suffering from a terminal illness has made a direction under this section and the medical practitioner responsible for the treatment of the person has notice of that direction, it shall be the duty of that medical practitioner to act in accordance with the direction unless there is reasonable ground to believe that the person -
(a) has revoked, or intended to revoke, the direction; or
(b) was not, at the time of making the direction, capable of understanding the nature and consequences of the direction.
(4) This section does not derogate from any duty of a medical practitioner to inform a patient who is conscious and capable of exercising a rational judgment of all the various forms of treatment that may be available to the patients' particular case so that the patient may make an informed judgment as to whether a particular form of treatment should, or should not, be undertaken.
(5) The Administrator may, by regulation, prescribe a form for the purposes of subsection (1).