Summary
Read the full fact sheet- A person in the late stages of advanced disease can ask for a medication that will bring about their death. In Victoria this is called voluntary assisted dying.
- You can tell your doctor if you are thinking about voluntary assisted dying. You can also speak with the Voluntary Assisted Dying Care Navigators.
- Not everyone is eligible and there are strict conditions. The law has safeguards that make sure that it is the person’s own decision.
- There is an application process to receive a permit for voluntary assisted dying.
- A person must ask their doctor three times if they want voluntary assisted dying. One of the requests must be in writing. Two doctors must agree the person meets the conditions for voluntary assisted dying.
- You can change your mind at any time in the process. You do not have to take the medication.
On this page
Voluntary assisted dying is an option for some people in the late stages of advanced disease. A doctor can prescribe medication that will bring about their death.
A person's decision to ask for voluntary assisted dying must be:
- voluntary (the person' own decision)
- consistent (the person makes three separate requests)
- fully informed (the person is well-informed about their disease, treatment and palliative care).
There are conditions and an application process. People who meet the conditions and follow the process can access the medication.
Voluntary assisted dying is also sometimes called 'euthanasia', 'VAD', 'dying with dignity' or 'medical assistance in dying'. The law about voluntary assisted dying is not the same everywhere. This information is for people who live in Victoria.
Palliative care
Palliative care and end of life care services support people with a life-limiting illness. They help people by managing symptoms and providing comfort and support. They also support family and carers. People who choose voluntary assisted dying still have access to palliative care.
Even with the best palliative and end of life care, some people can experience suffering. If that suffering is unacceptable to them, they may want to ask for help to die.
If these people are eligible, and follow the process set out in the law, they can access voluntary assisted dying.
Palliative Care Advice Service
If you have questions about palliative care you can speak with your doctor or the Palliative Care Advice Service.
Phone 1800 360 000
7am – 10pm, every day of the year.
Getting information and support
You can speak to your doctor about voluntary assisted dying if you are thinking about it.
Your doctor can give you advice based on your circumstances. They can discuss whether you are likely to be eligible. Your doctor and other members of your healthcare team can support you through the application process if you choose voluntary assisted dying.
Voluntary assisted dying care navigators can help you find support for you and your family and friends. You can contact them for support from anywhere in Victoria.
Care navigators can work with people to make sure they get the right support. They can also work with families, carers, doctors and other health workers.
Care navigators can help you to find a doctor who has done voluntary assisted dying training. If your doctor does not want to talk to you about voluntary assisted dying you can call the care navigators.
The voluntary assisted dying application process can take several weeks. The person will need to organise appointments with doctors. They will also need to gather other evidence to show they are eligible.
An Easy English guide to voluntary assisted dying is available.
It is acceptable to use interpreters or other supports to communicate wishes. See also 'Interpreters or help with communication'.
Contact the Voluntary Assisted Dying Care Navigator Service
Phone (03) 8559 5823
Other services
Other services that can provide you with support if you are thinking about voluntary assisted dying, or supporting a family member, include:
- Grief Australia phone 1800 642 066
- BeyondBlue phone 1300 22 4636
Your doctor may recommend other local or specialist services.
Eligibility
The law states that people can only access voluntary assisted dying if they meet all of these conditions:
- They must have an advanced disease that will cause their death and that is:
- likely to cause their death within six months (or within 12 months for neurodegenerative diseases like motor neurone disease)
- causing the person suffering that is unacceptable to them.
- They must have the ability to make and communicate a decision about voluntary assisted dying throughout the formal request process.
- They must also:
- be an adult 18 years or over
- have been living in Victoria for at least 12 months
- be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
Disability and mental illness
Having a disability or mental illness alone does not make a person eligible to access voluntary assisted dying. People with a disability or mental illness have the same right to ask for voluntary assisted dying as others in the community. People seeking voluntary assisted dying must have a life-limiting disease. They must also be able to make and communicate a decision about voluntary assisted dying throughout the process.
Dementia
A person diagnosed with dementia may be eligible to access voluntary assisted dying if they meet the conditions. This includes having a disease likely to cause their death in weeks or months. They must also have decision making ability through the entire process.
If dementia affects a person' ability to make a decision about voluntary assisted dying, they will not meet the conditions to receive help to die.
You cannot request voluntary assisted dying for another person.
Advance care directives
A person cannot request voluntary assisted dying in an advance care directive. People use advance care directives to document their preferences for future medical treatment. The directive is only used if the person loses decision making ability.
People requesting voluntary assisted dying need to have decision-making ability throughout the process.
Application process
There are several steps a person needs to take to access voluntary assisted dying. The process makes sure people are eligible and that they are making a consistent choice. The process takes at least ten days unless the person is expected to die within ten days. It may take several weeks to organise appointments and collect documents.
The steps are:
- Ask for information
Ask your doctor or the Care Navigator Service for information about voluntary assisted dying.
- First request
If you decide you want voluntary assisted dying, ask your doctor to help you access it. Tell them that you want to go through the steps that will allow you to access voluntary assisted dying.
- First assessment
A doctor will assess you to see if you meet the requirements.
- Second assessment
A second doctor will assess you to see if you meet the requirements.
- Written declaration
Complete a form provided by your doctor requesting voluntary assisted dying.
- Final request
Ask the first doctor to help you access voluntary assisted dying for the final time. This must be at least ten days (including weekends) after your first request.
- Appoint a contact person
Appoint a person who will return the medication to the pharmacy if you die without taking it.
- Doctor applies for a permit to prescribe the medication
The doctor will apply for a permit to prescribe the medication. This will allow either self-administration or practitioner administration of the medication. Then they write the prescription.
- Medication is delivered
You will make a time for the Statewide Pharmacy to deliver the medication.
The doctors who assess a person for voluntary assisted dying must have completed training. The training is about the voluntary assisted dying application process. Each doctor must:
- make sure that the person is fully informed about their disease, and their treatment and palliative care options
- make sure that voluntary assisted dying is the person' own choice
- let the person know that they can change their mind about accessing voluntary assisted dying at any time.
Asking for voluntary assisted dying
If you would like to talk about voluntary assisted dying you can ask your doctor. They cannot raise it with you first.
A person may ask their carer, family, friend or other support person to go with them when they visit the doctor. The doctor may want to talk to the person on their own for part of the appointment.
No one can request voluntary assisted dying for another person. This includes doctors, family members, or other carers. It also includes medical treatment decision makers. This is to make sure the person' request is voluntary.
A medical treatment decision maker can only make decisions when a person cannot make a decision for themselves. A person asking for voluntary assisted dying must be able to make their own decisions.
Finding a doctor
The doctors who assess you for voluntary assisted dying need to be experienced. You can ask your general practitioner (GP) and your specialist for help. They need to complete voluntary assisted dying training before they can assess you.
Nurses, aged care staff and other health workers can give information. They cannot help you apply for voluntary assisted dying.
Not all doctors provide voluntary assisted dying
If your doctor is unwilling to speak with you about voluntary assisted dying you can call the care navigators.
Health care workers do not have to:
- provide information or support about voluntary assisted dying
- assess a person for voluntary assisted dying
- supply or give the medication used for voluntary assisted dying.
Health care workers do not have to participate in voluntary assisted dying if they do not agree with it. This is called conscientious objection.
Interpreters or help with communication
Family members cannot be interpreters. Interpreters or speech pathologists must be independent and approved by a professional body.
People can use communication aids, writing, gestures to ask for voluntary assisted dying. They may also ask a speech pathologist to help them communicate with their doctors during the process.
People can ask someone else to sign the written declaration requesting voluntary assisted dying for them. The person seeking voluntary assisted dying must be present when the written declaration is signed.
Medication
Most people will take the medication themselves by swallowing it. This is called self-administration. The pharmacists will explain what to do when they deliver the medication. The person can choose when they take the medication. The person can always decide not to take the medication.
Practitioner administration is only available when the person cannot swallow or otherwise take the medication themselves.
Health services
Victorian health services can choose whether they provide voluntary assisted dying.
Some health services may not be able to provide voluntary assisted dying. For example, if they do not have staff who have completed the training. People can ask doctors or health care workers for information about voluntary assisted dying. The care navigators will help if you need to find a different doctor.
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