Background Victoria has developed its strategy for implementing advance care planning – Advance care planning: have the conversation; A strategy for Victorian health services 2014 – 2018. It provides clear and useful information to guide the implementation of advance care planning (ACP) in Victorian health services.

Aim The strategy aims to ensure that all Victorians accessing health services will have opportunities to express their preferences for future treatment and care through advance care planning.

This presentation will discuss the process undertaken to develop the strategy, the key messages and expectations for implementation and the evaluation framework.

Methods The development of this strategy has been informed by the practice wisdom of an expert advisory group, structured and extensive consultations with key stakeholders and the lessons learnt from consultations to date. Victoria’s existing legal framework supports the implementation of ACP.

Results The strategy articulates four priority action areas for health services with associated measures and timelines for implementation and also their alignment with the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. Health services are expected to take an organisation wide approach, ensure that quality and evidence inform practice, build workforce capability and provide opportunities for people to engage in ACP.

Discussion and conclusion A comprehensive implementation plan accompanies the strategy. This is overseen by an advisory group and supported by a number of funded initiatives which are assisting to address issues and challenges identified. A monitoring and evaluation framework is assessing how well ACP is being implemented against the monitoring measures over its four-year implementation.