Making choices about the end of life

We can all plan, discuss and prepare for the end of life at any time.

This can help make the experience more comfortable and provide a greater sense of control when it happens.

Voluntary assisted dying

Voluntary assisted dying is medical help to end your life at a time you choose. It is for people who have a medical condition that is terminal and causing suffering.

To access voluntary assisted dying you must:

• meet all the requirements
• follow all the legal steps of the process.

When can it be accessed

Voluntary assisted dying will be available in the ACT for eligible people from 3 November 2025.

Who can access it

You will be able to access voluntary assisted dying in the ACT if you meet all the requirements.

To access voluntary assisted dying in the ACT you must:

• be 18 or older
• have lived in the ACT for the last 12 months
• have an advanced and progressive medical condition that will cause death and is causing you intolerable suffering
• be able to make and communicate decisions throughout the process.

If you have not lived in the ACT for the past 12 months but you have a connection to the ACT you will be able to apply for an exemption.

How to access voluntary assisted dying in the ACT

We will provide more information on this process as our work progresses.

The following is a summary of the process from the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2024.

The first step will be to speak to your doctor or nurse practitioner to request access. If your doctor is not authorised to help you, they must give you the details of a doctor that can.

After requesting access, you will need to be assessed to check you meet all the requirements. You will need to get assessed by two independent authorised practitioners. These will be called your coordinating and consulting practitioners.

Your coordinating and consulting practitioners can refer you to a third practitioner if they are unable to assess whether you meet all the requirements.

If your coordinating and consulting practitioners think you are eligible, you will need to make a final request to the coordinating practitioner to confirm you have decision-making capacity.

You will be able to choose to take the voluntary assisted dying substance yourself or have it given to you by an administering practitioner. You will be able to choose when and where you’d like to take it.

Resources

We are working to create resources about voluntary assisted dying for the community, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and culturally and linguistically diverse people.

We will engage in community consultation to develop these resources.

Support services

Family, friends and carers will be able to offer support during voluntary assisted dying. Supporting someone through voluntary assisted dying can raise strong emotions for those left behind.

We're establishing a Coordination, Assessment and Liaison Service to:

• help individuals and their families understand the voluntary assisted dying process
• provide information and pathways about voluntary assisted dying to health services and professionals.

There will also be grief and loss services available for:

• health professionals
• families
• friends
• carers.

Safety measures

Safety measures are built into the framework of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2024.

They include:

• requirements you will have to meet to get access
• processes you will have to follow to access voluntary assisted dying
• regulations on dispensing, possessing and disposing of approved substances
• requirements health professionals will have to meet before speaking with you about end-of-life options
• obligations that health care facilities and services will have to meet
• requirements that conscientious objectors will have to pass on the details of the Coordination, Assessment and Liaison Service
• the voluntary assisted dying oversight board which will be responsible for monitoring voluntary assisted dying in the ACT and reporting on compliance.

Who can provide voluntary assisted dying services

Authorised health professionals will be able to provide voluntary assisted dying services in the ACT.

To be authorised to provide these services health professionals must:

• meet the qualification and experience requirements
• complete compulsory training based on the ACT legislation.

Authorised health professionals will be able to act as your:

• Coordinating practitioner – conducts the initial assessment and coordinates all steps of the process.
• Consulting practitioner – conducts a second assessment, called a consulting assessment.
• Administering practitioner –administers the prescribed voluntary assisted dying substance. This role is only required if the person chooses practitioner administration.

The table outlines the qualification and experience requirements that health professionals must have.

We will develop clinical guidelines to support health professionals to have end of life discussions. This will include how to provide information on:

• voluntary assisted dying
• palliative care
• other treatment options.

An information sheet for health professionals is available about what they can say and do under the current ACT and NSW legislation.

Download the information sheet for health professionals [PDF 290 KB].

We will provide more information for health professionals as our work progresses.

Objecting to voluntary assisted dying

Health professionals and service providers will have the right to refuse to take part in voluntary assisted dying.

If they refuse, they must give you the details of the Coordination, Assessment and Liaison Service. This is a requirement under the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2024.

The Coordination, Assessment and Liaison Service will be able to give you information and help you access voluntary assisted dying services.

Advance care planning

Talk to healthcare professionals, family and friends to discuss your wishes, values, beliefs and preferences for future medical treatment.

Find out more about advance care planning.

Organ and tissue donation

Talk about organ and tissue donation and understand what’s involved.

Find out more about organ and tissue donation.