Late last week Queensland became the fifth state to pass legislation legalising Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD), leaving New South Wales as the last cab off the rank to pass similar legislation. 

The VAD Bill passed through Queensland Parliament on Thursday 16 September, creating a law that allows eligible terminally ill patients with less than 12 months to have the right to end their life through medical means. 

Dying with Dignity NSW is a non-profit advocacy group that has been campaigning for a change in the laws since 1983. Vice President Shayne Higson says she is hopeful that when Parliament resumes, the new bill to be introduced by Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich, will be heard as a matter of urgency. 

“Not just because we’re the last state but because every day that they wait, more terminally ill people in NSW are going to experience bad deaths, and some people take matters into their own hands and take their own lives in horrific circumstances,” said Ms Higson. 

Despite the Bill’s failure in Parliament in late 2017, the cause has garnered mass support across the state and Dying with Dignity's latest petition already carries more than 90,000 signatures.

Earlier this year, Member for Barwon Roy Butler sought the opinion of local voters to inform where his support would lie. 

“Currently, voluntary assisted dying happens every day. We just don’t call it that. Pain management medicine is used to slow a terminally ill persons breathing until they expire. This places nurses and doctors in a vulnerable position,” said Mr Butler. 

According to research conducted in 2019, 80 per cent of voters in the Barwon electorate agree that terminally ill patients should be able to end their own lives with medical assistance. 

That 80 per cent was made up of voters across the political spectrum including the Coalition, Labor and Greens parties. 

Similarly, the support across both religious and non-religious demographics, despite a lot of the debate being from a religious perspective. 

“You can never take these debates for granted because our opponents, which is primarily the Catholic Church and the Australian Christian lobby are incredibly strong in their position of right to life,” said Ms Higson. 

Currently, assisted suicide is illegal in Australia, leaving any medical staff who may administer life ending medication at the request of a terminally ill patient liable. 

The concept is very complex and does not have universal support, with many groups working hard to lobby against the potential change.  

A spokesperson of FamilyVoice Australia argued that VAD should not be considered healthcare, and will make a mockery of existing suicide prevention campaigns.  

"The proposed NSW VAD bill is nothing short of legalised Assisted Suicide creating a real 'COVID Paradox'," the spokesperson said, referencing an ongoing debate about the freedoms of mandated vaccinations.  

“The deaths in Victoria (who also have legalised VAD) have been described as beautiful. That’s a very different situation for people who can’t have access to assisted dying,” Ms Higson said. 

The recent law that passed in Queensland, much like in the other states who have passed similar legislation, contain multiple criteria that act as safeguards for vulnerable patients, ensuring they are of capacity to make the choice independently. The patient must be diagnosed with a terminal illness that causes “intolerable” suffering. 

Patients must be at least 18 years old, meet residency requirements and have decision-making capacity to be eligible for VAD. This means that patients with dementia will not have access to the scheme. While in Victoria the timeframe of life expectancy is six months, Queensland’s legislation allows those with a life expectancy of 12 months to access VAD. 

“It has always been a concern as to whether you could draft or create a law that would give people choice but also protect the vulnerable, but we now know after decades of experience that it is possible,” Ms Higson said.

NSW won’t hear the bill until Parliament is resumed, which has been postponed for its third month due to covid safety concerns. 

Queensland passed their VAD legislation in Parliament by a significant majority of 61 to 30 votes.

In Australia, voluntary assisted dying has now been legalised in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia.