NSW introduces voluntary assisted dying legislation

03 June 2022

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 was passed by the New South Wales (NSW) parliament in May.

New South Wales joins all other Australian states and New Zealand that have passed similar legislation. Voluntary assisted dying bills in the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory have been overridden by Commonwealth legislation.

Summary of current voluntary assisted dying legislation

Some differences exist between the legislation in the various jurisdictions. Victoria, for example, has a strict prohibition on health practitioners initiating a discussion about voluntary assisted dying, whereas Western Australia allows a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner to initiate a discussion about voluntary assisted dying, so long as at the same time there is a wider discussion about that person’s treatment and palliative care options and likely outcomes.

The Queensland Law Reform Commission (QLRC) report: A legal framework for voluntary assisted dying contains a useful comparative guide to the main provisions of current voluntary assisted dying legislation in Australia and selected overseas jurisdictions (Appendix C).

Queensland University of Technology has a range of online resources for clinicians on voluntary assisted dying available. They also run a free training program for doctors called End of Life Law for Clinicians, covering the law on end of life decision-making more broadly (module 11 is specifically on voluntary assisted dying).