VAD amendments pass in Victoria

Intended to make the laws clearer and more compassionate, amendments to the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 have passed in Victoria.

In a statement, the Victorian Government said the amendments bring the state’s laws in line with some other states and the ACT, while keeping the existing safeguards in place.

Changes will take effect within 18 months and are intended to “pave the way for more Victorians to access VAD without added barriers, improve clarity for practitioners, strengthen safety measures and make the system fairer and more compassionate.

“The reforms maintain the strong safeguards that have been a cornerstone of Victoria’s approach, ensuring that decisions are always voluntary, the person has decision-making capacity, and they are free from coercion,” the government stated.

Key updates to the legislation include:

• Removal of the ‘gag clause’, meaning doctors and some registered health practitioners are allowed to raise VAD with their patients during discussion about end of life care
• For doctors and nurse practitioners who conscientiously object to be required to provide minimum information to patients
• The prognosis requirement (life expectancy limit for eligibility) being extended from six to 12 months
• The need for a third prognosis for people with neurodegenerative diseases (like motor neurone disease) if their expected lifespan is between six and 12 months being removed
• A new administering practitioner role being introduced — to expand the workforce able to support VAD
   

“Our new laws will now make it fairer and more compassionate for Victorians who are terminally ill and suffering in pain to live out their last days with dignity,” Victoria’s Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas said.

“These changes were not possible without the advocates, clinicians and families, who through their own stories, told us our once nation-leading laws needed updating to give terminally ill Victorians more choice.”

“Doctors and nurse practitioners can now have open, honest conversations to ensure their terminally ill patients are making safe and informed end-of-life decisions.”

The amendments follow the release of an independent review into the first five years of VAD in Victoria. The review which found, the government stated, that the service is working safely and as intended, however that also identified challenges in accessing VAD.

Image credit: iStock.com/Pharrel Wiliams