The Allan Labor Government has accepted all recommendations from the independent review into Australia’s first voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws and will make further reforms to make them fairer.
On 20 February 2025, Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas tabled the review into the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017, which has given Victorians with a life-limiting illness dignified and compassionate choices since 2019.
The review found there was strong community support for VAD, with the service often accessed at the same time as palliative care. It also found that it is operating safely – with 1,282 eligible Victorians having accessed VAD services since 2019 and no reports of ineligible people gaining access to VAD.
Consistent with the ANMF (Vic Branch) belief, however, the review also found areas for improvement.
A key problem Victoria has had is the ‘gag law’ that prohibits medical staff initiating a conversation about voluntary assisted dying with a patient. With many people in the community still unaware of the law, the requirement for a patient to initiate the conversation means many are being denied information necessary to make an informed decision.
‘It’s so unethical because the patient isn’t able to be provided with all available medical options,’ retired nurse and Dying with Dignity Victoria president Jane Morris told ANMF in 2024.
The Branch therefore welcomes the state government’s commitment, in response to the review, to rewrite the legislation to allow health practitioners to initiate discussions about VAD – among other commitments to bring Victorian VAD access into line with other jurisdictions.
The government has acknowledged that restricting health practitioners from initiating discussions about VAD prevents them from having important conversations with patients about end-of-life care and limits informed decision-making.
The proposed changes may also require health practitioners who conscientiously object to VAD to provide minimum information to patients – with the review stating that such obstruction was inconsistent with person-centred care.
For Victorians with neurodegenerative conditions, many of whom are house or bed-bound at the time of application, proposed changes include removing the requirement for a third assessment – making the process easier and less complicated, as well as reducing demand on doctors who make these assessments.
The full review is publicly available at health.vic.gov.au/voluntary-assisted-dying/five-year-review.
