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The Facts

Surveys show that around 85% of Australians support the legalisation of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) to allow for better choice at the end of life.

Despite this, only Victoria and Western Australia have passed an assisted dying law (with Victoria's in operation from June 2019 and WA's law likely to come into effect mid-2021).

Unfortunately, misinformation has encouraged politicians in other states to act in ways that don't reflect the wishes of their constituents.

Here's our guide to the 'Top 11 Facts' that dispel the misinformation spread about voluntary assisted dying laws.

Find our Fact Sheets here:

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1. Voluntary assisted dying is working well in Victoria 2. Voluntary assisted dying is not suicide 3. A Voluntary assisted dying law protects the vulnerable 4. It shouldn't be a crime for a doctor to help a dying patient die peacefully 5. Assisting a dying person to die is not 'patient killing' 6. Palliative care is excellent, but it can't help everyone 7. Voluntary assisted dying is also about better palliative care 8. This is a law that respects a doctor's choice 9. Faith-based arguments against voluntary assisted dying: are they made in good faith? 10. Voluntary assisted dying is just that ... voluntary 11. All the evidence supports voluntary assisted dying legislation

Our current laws do not protect us from unnecessary suffering

In Australia today...

  • It is legal, if you are dying and suffering beyond medical help, to end your suffering by committing suicide, often violently and alone.
  • It is legal to refuse all medical treatment, food and water, and to die slowly of starvation and dehydration while your disease takes its course.
  • It is legal for a doctor to slowly drug you into a coma while your family waits for days, or weeks, for you to die. This can happen without your consent.
  • It is NOT legal, if you are dying and suffering beyond medical help, to end your suffering painlessly and quickly with the help of a doctor.

As a patient, you do not have any legal right to insist that a doctor gives you more, or faster, pain relief. That decision is entirely up to the doctor whose personal beliefs you may not share.

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