ACT Greens MLA Andrew Braddock raised Dying with Dignity ACT’s concerns around voluntary assisted dying documents at the Legislative Assembly. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A leading voluntary assisted dying advocacy group has warned that a “potential inconsistency” between the service’s law and clinical guidelines could expose the ACT Government to legal challenges.
Dying with Dignity ACT wrote to Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith in March 2025 to highlight the issue, but felt her response wasn’t satisfactory.
The group said the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2024 set out that a person must be “approaching the end of their life” (other jurisdictions prescribe how long a person is expected to live as one of the eligibility criteria), diagnosed with a terminal condition that is “advanced, progressive and expected to cause death”, is “suffering intolerably”, have decision-making capacity, be an adult, and are making the decision voluntarily.
The Act’s principles state that a person’s individual autonomy should be respected, and that clinicians should provide person-centred treatment that minimises suffering and maximises quality of life.
The clinical guidelines state “authorised practitioners should consider the person’s diagnosis, expected disease trajectory, desire to continue or cease treatments and their individual experience of suffering, when determining if a person is approaching the end of their life”.
“Approaching end of life does not only extend to people whose death is imminent and expected within a few hours or days. Similarly, a person who is diagnosed with a terminal condition that is expected to deteriorate over the course of years would not be approaching the end of their life.”
It’s this difference that Dying with Dignity ACT has argued has led to inconsistencies.
ACT Greens MLA Andrew Braddock raised the issue during the Legislative Assembly sitting on Wednesday (24 September), stating that it could have unintended consequences.
“Without reconciling this inconsistency, the government is exposing itself to potential future litigation from affected Canberrans,” he said.
Affected Canberrans could include those diagnosed with dementia who do not meet the criteria to access voluntary assisted dying (VAD) while they retain decision-making capacity.
“By the time their condition has progressed, they will almost certainly have lost decision-making capacity and hence no longer be eligible,” Mr Braddock said.
“Until this catch-22 is resolved, Canberrans with dementia will intolerably suffer without the option of a peaceful death.”
Speaking with Region, Dying with Dignity ACT project coordinator Roy Harvey argued people diagnosed with dementia (and other neurodegenerative conditions) technically met all eligibility conditions outlined in the Act, and so clinicians’ decisions were up to their interpretation of the Act alongside the guidelines.
“We’ve argued that if somebody has a terminal condition, experiencing a decline in functions, and said they don’t want to live until they are physically and/or mentally incapacitated … that that should be taken into account,” Mr Harvey said.
“If [a person] really doesn’t want to go down the slide of dementia … we argue [this] means they should not be forced to live life knowing this is where they’re going.”
Mr Harvey argued that many people were diagnosed with dementia at a later stage in their disease, and the Act’s timeline to death compared with the clinical guidelines also left things open to interpretation.
“It doesn’t say [your death is expected to be] two years away or less than three years away,” he said.
“[But it also] doesn’t say a condition must be advanced enough that a doctor is satisfied you’re almost dead.”
Mr Harvey said the Act didn’t need to be changed to solve this issue, just the guidelines.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith responded to the concerns in the Assembly, stating “approaching end of life” wasn’t the only eligibility criterion.
“The person also needs to have a condition that’s not only progressive but advanced,” she said.
“Hence why an early point in a diagnosis is unlikely to meet the requirements … I disagree that the guidelines are inconsistent with the Act, and encourage people to take a broader view of what the eligibility requirements actually are.”
She also told the Assembly that the recruitment and training of authorised practitioners had commenced, with more than 25 applications by clinicians wanting to become VAD practitioners.
“To become an authorised practitioner, clinicians must already have training and experience in caring for people with life-limiting conditions at the end of life,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
“They are also required to attend training to understand their responsibilities under the legislation to ensure eligible people can access the scheme and that they are doing so free from coercion.”
A Community of Practice (to support clinicians) and a Care Navigator Service (for consumers) are being developed.
Canberrans will be able to access voluntary assisted dying from 3 November.
