Dr Katrine Del Villar1
1ACHLR, QUT
Since 2017, voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws have been passed in all six Australian states. Victoria’s pioneering Act took elements of Canada’s and Oregon’s assisted dying laws as a starting point, but made significant departures from both models. Other Australian states have largely modelled their laws on the Victorian example, but small variations are likely to make significant differences in practice.
This presentation compares and contrasts the laws in the various Australian states, focusing on practical issues such as diagnosis and prognosis, residence requirements and mode of administration of VAD. It highlights features of the various laws which may be unconstitutional, or are incompatible with the aims of the legislation, or are already causing practical difficulties in those states where VAD is operational. It also suggests amendments for consideration when the VAD laws undergo their mandatory statutory review.
Biography:
Katrine Del Villar is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at QUT who researches voluntary assisted dying, end of life and mental health law. She has been involved in writing the mandatory training for medical practitioners and nurse practitioners participating in voluntary assisted dying in WA and Queensland.