Susan Carter must withdraw invalid VAD bill
Go Gentle Australia has called on NSW MLC Susan Carter to withdraw her cruel and ill-conceived VAD Amendment Bill, which has been shown to be constitutionally invalid.
Expert legal opinion from Professor Patrick Keyzer and senior counsel Arthur Moses, has found the bill, which seeks to force aged care residents out of their homes if they seek VAD, is at odds with federal law.
The bill “purports to carve out a special category of faith-based aged care facilities and confer an immunity on them from providing federally funded aged care services consistent with the Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth) and the Aged Care Rules 2025", Moses and Keyzer write in the joint opinion.
“The Commonwealth Aged Care Act and Aged Care Rules guarantee the right of a person to have their needs, goals and preferences for end-of-life care be recognised and addressed by aged care service providers. This is spelled out in Commonwealth law.
“The [Carter] Bill, if enacted, would be inconsistent with Commonwealth law and invalid," they conclude.
Please email your Upper House representatives if you believe aged care residents should have the same access to end-of-life choice as everyone else. Urge them to vote down this dangerous and ill-conceived bill.
Go Gentle’s CEO Dr Linda Swan welcomed the advice and called on Susan Carter MLC and her 12 co-sponsors to immediately withdraw the legislation.
“Forcing dying elderly people out of their homes if they want to access VAD has the potential to inflict terrible harm on some of our most vulnerable citizens," Dr Swan said.
“This advice from two of Australia’s best legal minds confirms what we've known all along – that all of us, no matter where we live, are entitled to choose the end-of-life care that is right for us. And that this basic right extends to those of us living in residential aged care.
“The federal aged care regulator makes it crystal clear; that an aged care provider that decides not to take part [in VAD] still has to meet its provider responsibility to support residents’ right to exercise choice to access the VAD process.
“This group of religious-minded politicians, led by Susan Carter and backed by her Liberal Leader Mark Speakman, have not done their homework – and have drafted a Bill that is invalid.
“Susan Carter and her so-sponsors must now do the right thing and withdraw their cruel and ill-conceived Bill."
Dr Swan said Mrs Carter and Mr Speakman should apologise and correct the record after misleading the public and creating stress and anxiety among aged care residents.
“They’ve resorted to misleading claims that their bill is uncontroversial and simply brings NSW into line with other states. This is patently untrue," Dr Swan said.
“Legislation in South Australia, Queensland and the ACT all recognise and defend an aged care resident’s rights to access VAD if that is their choice.
“And Western Australia is in the process of implementing recommendations from its VAD Review to ensure its aged care providers comply with the law."
Alex Greenwich MP condemns 'divisive' bill
Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich, who authored the original VAD legislation and shepherded it through Parliament in 2022, said in a statement that Susan Carter now had no choice but to act.
“This expert advice is humiliating for Susan Carter, and Mark Speakman SC who backed the bill. It’s pretty obvious state laws can’t trump rights and protections enshrined in federal laws.
“This cruel and divisive bill has caused internal conflict in the Liberal Party, anxiety amongst people in aged care that they could be kicked out of their home, and yet no work or consultation was done to see if it was even constitutionally valid.
“It’s time for Susan Carter to do the honourable thing, withdraw her bill, and leave people with terminal illnesses in aged care alone,” Mr Greenwich said.
Read the Sydney Morning Herald report