The ACT has joined every Australian state in legalising voluntary assisted dying. From today, terminally ill Canberrans have the right to choose the timing and manner of their death.

“Our voluntary assisted dying model is the most progressive in the country,” health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA said. “It puts compassion, dignity and safety at the centre of care, while ensuring people have genuine choice and control over their final days.” 

Voluntary assisted dying is available to people aged 18 and over who have lived in the ACT for at least 12 months, and who suffer from an advanced, progressive medical condition expected to cause death and intolerable suffering. They must have the capacity to make decisions at every stage of the process, and be acting voluntarily, without coercion.

In December 2022, the Federal Parliament overturned a 25-year ban blocking the ACT and Northern Territory’s rights to debate euthanasia: Labor MLA Alicia Payne and her NT colleague Luke Gosling introduced the Restoring Territory Rights Act, which independent Senator David Pocock championed in the upper house. The ACT Legislative Assembly introduced its Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill in October 2023, and passed it in June 2024.

Human rights minister Tara Cheyne MLA, who introduced the legislation, said:

“Even with the best end-of-life care, some Canberrans with an advanced condition, illness or disease can experience intolerable suffering near the end of their lives… This is a compassionate and dignified option … ensuring their autonomy is respected during the most vulnerable time in their lives.”

Doctors, palliative care teams, and aged-care providers have spent months preparing for the new laws, Ms Stephen-Smith said. Training and support systems are in place to guide families through the process, alongside existing end-of-life care. An independent board will oversee and report on how the scheme operates.

Canberra Health Services has set up a care navigator service to help patients, families, and health professionals understand the new laws. The service can provide information and connect eligible people with authorised practitioners. It is available Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm, on 5124 1888.

Reactions

Advocacy group Dying with Dignity ACT “could not be more pleased to see the introduction of VAD” after decades of campaigning, president Sam Delaney said. “The ACT Government has given us legislation which is an improvement over that of other Australian jurisdictions.”

However, the Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn, Christopher Prowse, denounced the bill:

“Legislation of this dire nature is misguided and thoroughly contrary to the common good. It does nothing to advance a culture of life in our society. We must be able to consider legislation beyond simply subjective considerations.”

Canberra Liberals leader Leanne Castley MLA said the reform reflected broad community support: “Voluntary Assisted Dying in the ACT provides Canberrans with a compassionate and dignified option at the end of life… We trust that the Government has undertaken, and will continue to undertake, the necessary due diligence to ensure this process remains safe, transparent, and carefully regulated.”

Andrew Braddock MLA, ACT Greens spokesperson for VAD, said the new laws would allow terminally ill Canberrans to “die with dignity”, but argued that eligibility criteria should eventually be broadened to include people who lose the ability to make decisions partway during the process or those with degenerative but non-terminal conditions that cause intolerable suffering.

“Some Canberrans who are intolerably suffering are being denied the option of a peaceful death,” Mr Braddock said. “Canberrans deserve the right to choose the time they access VAD if they have terminal conditions and experience an intolerable level of suffering. Widening the scope is commonsense and widely supported.”

Likewise, Mr Delaney hoped that the scheme would extend to people with dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, arguing they should be able to make end-of-life choices earlier than is possible in other states, while they can still make decisions.

A YouGov poll last year showed that 81 per cent of Canberrans supported allowing people suffering intolerably from health conditions to request voluntary assisted dying if they considered their quality of life was significantly diminished.

However, only 56 per cent believed people with untreatable chronic pain or mental health issues — suffering without causing death — should be able to access voluntary assisted dying.

Many Canberrans were pleased with the news.

“It’s about time!” several Redditors thought.

• “Death is a part of life and all adults should be able to have a say in every part of their life, including how it ends. This is an unbelievably positive thing for the wellbeing of people.”
• “Voluntary assisted dying … [is] a hell of a lot more dignified and respectful than forcing someone to live.”
• “My father-in-law died a horrible slow death… I’m not sure if these changes could have helped him, but maybe we could have made things better for him.”
• “It’s disgusting how we keep elderly and terminally sick around barely alive for our own selfish desire to not lose them, with no consideration for their own autonomy and dignity.”

But others wondered how VAD might be implemented and how it might function under pressure, and the lessons from jurisdictions like Canada, which has one of the most permissive models.

Canada introduced voluntary assisted dying a decade ago; The Guardian reported last year that vulnerable people who were not terminally ill but who had an “unmet social need” — homelessness, isolation, unemployment, mental illness, suicidality, stress — were being euthanised.

• “Will there be an increase in funding and support for palliative care for people who do not wish to access assisted suicide?”
• “It’s (relatively) easy to draft and pass legislation that deals with people who have the best intentions. The real test is when policy encounters people with bad intentions or motivations. And in this I include governments and institutions experiencing financial pressures.”
• “People being pressured to end their lives in this way has been the experience in Canada. Not just by family members but also by medical professionals and insurers etc. Biggest and worst unintended consequence of VAD in my opinion.”
• “I can’t wait for this to inevitably creep into the suggested treatment plans for those with depression, or veterans, etc, as has happened in Canada.”

Likewise, Belgium has euthanised children and prisoners. In the Netherlands, too, a woman with autism, anxiety, depression, and trauma — but not terminally ill — chose to die on the grounds of mental suffering. Benelux, sed non bene.

If the issue of voluntary assisted dying raises issues for you or your family, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Griefline on 1300 845 745.