VAD legislation passes in ACT
Humanists Australia is thrilled that the ACT has passed legislation to support Voluntary Assisted Dying. This has been a long fought campaign for ACT Humanists, and will make VAD available to ACT residents from November 2025, after an eighteen month implementation period.
Comfort for the dying
The first hurdle was to overturn the “Andrews Bill” - federal legislation that had prohibited the ACT and the NT from allowing VAD in the territories from 1997 until 2022. The second hurdle was to persuade the ACT Government to pass legislation that learns from the experience of VAD elsewhere and improves on legislation in other jurisdictions, both in Australia and overseas. Humanists Australia sent this submission on VAD to the ACT Government in March 2023.
Some features of the ACT legislation that differ from other Australian jurisdictions include:
The person must have a condition that is “advanced, progressive and expected to cause the person's death”. There is no specific timeframe required, whereas in other Australian jurisdictions the condition must be expected to cause death within 6 to 12 months.
A request for VAD must be reviewed by two independent, trained health professionals, one of whom can be a nurse practitioner. In other jurisdictions they must both be doctors.
Institutions and individual health practitioners may object to providing VAD. If a person makes a request for VAD to a health professional who is unwilling or unqualified to provide it, the health professional must refer the person to the new Coordination, Assessment and Liaison Service, within a strict time limit.
As requested in HA’s submission, high quality palliative care is a priority, and there is recognition that VAD is not a replacement for it. The Coordination, Assessment and Liaison Service goes some way to providing the holistic end of care services requested in HA’s submission, including providing grief and loss services for families, friends and carers.
There’s still room for improvement, and the ACT legislation is set to be reviewed in 2028. Some areas where the legislation and planned implementation differ from the recommendations in HA’s submission include:
VAD for people who are experiencing intolerable life-long suffering without a terminal illness
VAD for people with dementia who have an Advanced Care Directive in place that specifies criteria.
With the passing of the ACT legislation, the Northern Territory is now the only major jurisdiction in Australia without VAD legislation. This is ironic, given that the Northern Territory was the first jurisdiction in the world to introduce VAD laws back in 1995, before they were overturned by the Andrews Bill.
Humanists Australia thanks the ACT Government for this important legislation, and in particular thanks ACT’s Minister for Human Rights Tara Cheyne for her hard work and dedication in getting it across the line.
For further information, see ACT Government’s Making choices about the end of life.
