Author: Editor1

Voluntary Assisted Dying comes into effect in the ACT on Monday 3 November.

Information about the scheme is available at the ACT Govt website which sets out the process for applying for VAD.

Members of the ACT Voluntary Assisted Dying Oversight Board have met for the first time, in preparation of their role in overseeing, monitoring, and reporting on the operation of voluntary assisted dying in the ACT.

Dying with Dignity ACT has for some time been pressing the Health Minister about the guidelines for VAD practitioners, in the hope that there would be flexibility to allow options for people with dementia who still have mental capacity.

The Minister has responded that “I appreciate your view that the changes you propose to allow access to VAD for people with early stage dementia do not require legislative change and could instead be enacted through clinical guidelines. However, this would represent a major change to the policy underpinning the ACT’s VAD framework that could have ramifications far beyond early access for neurodegenerative conditions, including dementia.

The full text of the Minister’s letter can be read here.

The ACT government has, by accident or by design, excluded consumers from involvement in determining who will or will not be able to access VAD when the scheme starts operation in November this year’ says the President of Dying with Dignity ACT, Sam Delaney

Read the presentations made by several of the speakers at our VAD Forum on 15th April 2025

Sam Delaney, President, Dying with Dignity ACT, said this morning (7 May) ‘Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith is to be congratulated for committing to reviewing eligibility for voluntary assisted dying in the ACT’.

‘Voluntary Assisted Dying and the realities of end-of-life in Canberra’
A Forum sponsored by Dying with Dignity ACT
Date: Tuesday 15 April 2025 – 10.30 to 12.30
At the Reception Room, Legislative Assembly Building, London Circuit, Civic.