NT moves closer to VAD
The NT Government confirmed the Attorney-General would progress drafting of VAD laws, with the draft bill to be introduced in early 2026.
The announcement followed the NT Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee recommending adopting VAD in its report handed down 30 September, 2025, with 86 recommendations.
The recommendations include the removal of a prognosis timeframe for eligibility, although there is a requirement that the person must have an “advanced and progressive condition” expected to cause death.
The committee’s decision was based on the unreliability of prognosis timeframes, and the view there is opportunity to put sufficient safeguards elsewhere in a bill.
Go Gentle CEO Dr Linda Swan said the proposed removal of timeframes echoed the ACT’s legislation.
“We wait to see more detail in the legislation but we support laws that improve end-of-life choice, and the removal of a timeframe will allow people more time to reflect on their end-of-life wishes, plan and discuss with their loved ones,’’ Dr Swan said.
“The decision to access VAD requires time for options and preferences to be considered and not rushed.”
The report also calls for the NT Government to develop a comprehensive palliative care strategy, acknowledging that current services are stretched and often inaccessible, especially in remote areas.
“This is much needed,’’ Dr Swan said.
“Palliative care and VAD are both important end-of-life choices and need appropriate support and investment.”
The committee advocates for a decentralised VAD model, diverging from the centralised approach recommended in 2024. A decentralised system would allow services to be embedded within communities, evolving over time and co-designed with Indigenous stakeholders.
This model is seen as more adaptable to the Territory’s vast geography and diverse population, however it does rely on busy doctors to proactively undertake training and perform work currently not funded under the MBS.
Go Gentle has called on the federal government to fund VAD services to help ensure terminally ill patients are not denied access to VAD due to workforce shortages or out-of-pocket costs.
With one-third of the NT's population identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, cultural safety is proposed as a cornerstone of the legislation. The committee recommends embedding it as a guiding principle, an innovation not yet seen in other Australian VAD laws.
This includes expanding conscientious objection provisions to better reflect cultural sensitivities, and ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation on the VAD Review Board.
Go Gentle supports the focus on cultural safety but emphasised that acknowledging conscientious objection does not mean hospitals and aged care homes have the right to obstruct a person's right to access VAD.
“Individuals and institutions not providing VAD should have an obligation to provide contact details for a central VAD service who can help them access their VAD choice,” Dr Swan said.
“At every point in the process, we must ensure the law centres on the dying person's needs.”
With many NT communities located in remote areas, the committee recommends expanding the role of administering practitioners to include nurse practitioners and registered nurses, as well as the use of telehealth.
The use of telehealth in VAD care is currently prohibited by federal law, which Go Gentle Australia and 20 other health leaders have urged to be scrapped in a joint statement.
“Telecommunications like phone, email and videoconference are vital in the provision of high-quality, timely healthcare. This is the case across Australia, and even more so in the NT with more remote areas,’’ Dr Swan said.
“We call on the federal government to lift this outdated prohibition and meet the needs of terminally ill people nationwide.”
Dr Swan said it was appropriate for the NT to design a model that was adapted to its unique geographical and cultural context. However she said terminally ill people in the NT would not countenance any more unnecessary delays.
The inquiry was commissioned by the CLP government in May despite extensive consultation already undertaken in 2024, which recommended adopting VAD.
“We urge the NT government to draft this legislation in a timely manner, with appropriate consultation.
“We are mindful that every day it is delayed, more terminally ill Territorians suffer without access to the compassionate, end-of-life choice that the rest of Australia has.”