We will expand our legislation “collection” below on an ongoing basis!

None of the following should be considered as legal advice. We are not lawyers, but we like to read and understand legislation, and advocate for its improvement. So we try to get our head around it as much as possible. It’s a weird hobby but someone has to do it. 🤣

There appears to be very few apart from Go Gentle Australia, VADSA and Canberrans for a Good Death pushing for additional reforms, so here we go, we’re lending a hand! Please compare and contrast what the rest of the world has to offer to improve VAD here in Qld.

Qld Legislation

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021

This Queensland Legislation, which came into force on 1st January 2023, can be found in its entirety at this link.
The eligibility requirements to access VAD in Qld are defined in “Part 2; Section 10 Eligibility” of this legislation.

End of Life Law in Australia (QUT)

This website “provides accurate, practical and relevant information for individuals, families, health and legal practitioners, the media, policymakers and the broader community about Australian laws relating to death, dying and end of life decision-making.”
For the webpage that discusses the laws on VAD in Australia, and their intersection with palliative care and medical treatment decision-making click here.

VAD Legislation & Governance from Outside Qld (VAD, MAID, etc)

VAD legislation has been done before, many times, in many places. See below for a round up of the legislation as it has been passed into law, and applied, in various jurisdictions.

Canada - Chapter 3 - Bill C-14 - Statutes of Canada 2016

The Law governing Medical Assistance In Dying (MAiD) in Canada is available from the Parliament of Canada website here. Of note are sections 241.2(1) “Eligibility for MAID”; and 241.2(2) “Grievous and Irremediable Medical Condition”.

The most recently available annual report (2023) from the Canadian health authorities for Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada is available from the Government of Canada website here. Date published: 11 December 2024.
The prior year’s report for 2022 is available here. Date published: October 2023.

We are envious of the Canadian’s MAiD legislation, and would like to see the best bits of this legislation incorporated into our own Qld VAD Act.

The “End-of-Life Law and Policy in Canada” provides a great explanation of the Canadian MAiD legislation. Click here for their website. For the specific details of Canadian MAiD, explained in a really clear way, click here.

There are two tracks to Canadian MAiD:

1. If a person’s natural death has become reasonably foreseeable, then they proceed along “Track One” with the requisite procedural safeguards.
2. If a person’s natural death has not become reasonably foreseeable, then they proceed along “Track Two” with modified / additional procedural safeguards.

Both tracks require that you have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition”.

Unlike our Qld VAD Act, it appears the Canadians do not have an “expected to cause death within 12 months” clause that is stipulated in our legislation. All that is required for Track 1 is that a person’s death has become “reasonably foreseeable”.

However and additionally, if you are suffering “grievous and irremediable medical condition” and if your death is not reasonably foreseeable, you can still access MAiD. Via Track 2.

Way to go Canada!! 🤗

We need to get rid of the “expected to cause death within 12 months” clause from our legisation, and include both Track 1 and Track 2 type accessibility options into a new hybrid version for our Qld VAD Act. This is where we need to head people!!! 👍 👍

Australian Capital Territory

Law governing VAD in the ACT is available from the ACT Government’s website here. This Act commences on 3 November 2025. Of note are the eligibility requirements outlined in sections 11(1) to 11(7) inclusive.

Oregon (USA) - Chapter 127 - 1997

“On October 27, 1997, Oregon enacted the Death with Dignity Act which allows terminally ill individuals to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose.”
The Oregon Health Authority Website for Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act - with a link to “Read the law” and other reports is available here.
The “Oregon model” is often quoted as a reference for legislation in other jurisdictions (e.g. UK)