After a marathon 10 hours of debating, the NSW Senate passed the Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) Bill in the late hours of Thursday May 19, meaning that people with a terminal illness will have end-of-life options. 

The Senate debate followed a long delay after the Bill was passed in the Lower House in November last year, with the Legislative Council instead choosing to launch an inquiry into the issue. 

Under the new laws, people diagnosed with a terminal illness will be able to end their life through medical means, if meeting the eligibility criteria. 

Those with the illness can only access VAD if the illness is advanced and will likely cause death within a period of 12 months, and if their pain is intolerable and cannot be relieved. 

The person must also have decision-making capacity. 

According to polling conducted by Vote Compass in 2019, voter sentiment in favour of the proposed Bill was strong, with 80 per cent of voters in the Barwon electorate agreeing with voluntary assisted dying. 

Member for Barwon Roy Butler said that he has heard from both sides of the contentious issue across the electorate. 

“The fact that those other states have already worked on this legislation, it actually has been able to help NSW to learn from what those other states have put in place,” Mr Butler said. 

The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) welcomed the new law that extended the choice for those suffering with a terminal illness to ‘die with dignity’.

“As clinical health professionals, our members support and respect patients with an incurable illness having the ability to request and consent to access voluntary assisted dying,” NSWNMA General Secretary Brett Holmes said. 

Dying With Dignity NSW President Penny Hackett also expressed their relief at the decision, after 50 years of campaigning. 

“Now that every Australian state has passed VAD laws, we must not forget the plight of the Northern Territory and ACT which are prevented by Federal laws from passing their own VAD laws,” Ms Hackett said. 

Catholic Bishop of Bathurst Michael McKenna, however, was less welcoming of the impending change. 

“The institutions that care for the sick and the elderly will now be open to procedures that are the opposite of care,” Bishop McKenna said. 

Under the legislation, access to VAD won’t be available for another 18 months. 

The law was passed with a majority of 23 to 15 votes.