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A lack of legal clarity and preventative legislation that keeps patients from discussing end-of-life discussions with their qualified doctors means that many are being denied access to voluntary assisted dying, the Law Institute of Victoria said.
Under legislation that prevents patients from discussing these plans over telehealth, the state’s Law Institute (LIV) said that patients are “effectively without any options”, particularly if they live in remote areas. Additionally, this prevention has “essentially hampered the effectiveness” of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Vic).
In April 2021, despite growing concerns, the government said it “had no plans to amend the suicide-related material offences in the Criminal Code”.
LIV, the Australian Medical Association and Dying with Dignity Victoria said it remains deeply concerned about the lack of clarity and exposure for medical practitioners supporting the needs of their patients, particularly in extreme situations.
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how technologies can vastly improve access to justice, as well as access to health services, particularly for people living in remote areas,” said Ms Wolff, adding that it is “not just a problem for Victoria”.
The Commonwealth Criminal Code covers every state and territory and as more jurisdictions pass voluntary assisted dying legislation, they will also be confronted with “unnecessary and discriminatory obstacles”.
“The federal government must urgently make an exception from the Commonwealth Criminal Code to allow health practitioners to discuss voluntary assisted dying with their patients in all settings, irrespective to the patient’s geographical location. The telehealth ban for voluntary assisted dying needs to end now,” said Ms Wolff.
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
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