Ms Pavkovic has praised a voluntary assisted dying bill tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly today.
The introduction of the bill comes almost one year after the federal parliament lifted a 25-year-old ban preventing Australia’s territories from legislating on voluntary assisted dying.
Every state legislated on voluntary assisted dying during the time the federal veto hamstrung the ACT and Northern Territory.
Today, the nation’s capital has edged closer to catching up to its state counterparts, with ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr describing the development as a “historic day” after a “long journey”.
The ACT government has said the only silver lining to being among the last to legislate on voluntary assisted dying was the ability to assess what was working in other jurisdictions — and what was not.
The government is proposing a Canberra patient would be eligible to access voluntary assisted dying (VAD) if they are:
- aged over 18
- seeking VAD voluntarily with decision-making capability
- intolerably suffering an advanced, progressive condition expected to cause death
- local to the ACT for at least 12 months or with a significant Canberra connection
If eligible, the patient would then need to go through what the government has called a “multi-step request and assessment process”.
The reference to health professionals, such as nurse practitioners, sees the ACT’s proposed laws differ from those set to take effect next month across the border in New South Wales.
In NSW, only medical professionals will be able to conduct assessments. Similarly, this has been the case in Victoria since mid-2019 under its VAD laws.
A pharmacist would also be involved in the process in Canberra to dispense a voluntary assisted dying substance.
A further ACT deviation is that the health professionals who carry out assessments would not have to offer a time frame for life expectancy.
Whereas the NSW laws specify that “on the balance of probabilities” the medical professionals would need to determine that the patient’s condition or conditions will cause their death within six months, or 12 months for neurodegenerative diseases.
However, in line with other jurisdictions, the ACT’s bill will also allow medical and health professionals to conscientiously object to having any role in VAD.
(ABC)
