In Short
A coroner has found Queensland’s voluntary assisted dying laws are not “well-considered” after an elderly man took his own life using drugs prescribed for his partner.
Coroner David O’Connell has recommended a health professional be present every time a deadly substance is administered.
The government will consider bringing forward a review of the legislation.
Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) is a legal option for the end of one’s life for people with a life limiting illness. All states in Australia now have this available, although the legislation differs by jurisdiction. VAD will be available in the ACT from November 3, 2025. The Northern Territory is currently considering legislation.
Palliative care should be available to any person who has a life-limiting illness and should be the option for end-of-life care that sits alongside VAD.
Patients currently have the option of self-administering the VAD substance or having a health professional administer it to them.
Healthcare professionals can conscientiously object to being part of this process. Other health professionals may conscientiously support the VAD process, while others may remain neutral to the process. It is important that all health professionals remain non-judgemental to the patients’ decisions, and that the patients remain supported throughout the time of receiving end of life care.
There needs to be sufficient resources to provide both after death care and bereavement support to families – including at home.
PCQ understands that the Qld Government is considering bringing forward a review of the Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation. We believe in robust quality control and in response to this inquest report, and the events that led to it, such a review is needed to ensure Voluntary Assisted Dying operates safely in Queensland.
PCQ strongly believes that all people with life-limiting conditions who are facing end of life scenarios should have a plan for their after-death care. This can be included in advance care planning.
In the case of people who choose Voluntary Assisted Dying, this after death care plan should include:
- grief and bereavement support for the family and the person returning the substance – with set check-in points for those people,
- how, when, where and by whom the substance will be returned if the patient did not die using VAD, or was admitted to hospital and had a health practitioner administer VAD (while still having the supplied self-administered VAD at home).
This plan should be shared with the intended recipient of the substance within QVAD.
To enable these plans to be delivered, the QLD Government needs to ensure that resourcing is available in all regions of Queensland for after death care, grief and bereavement support.
PCQ believes that palliative care should be available to all people with a life-limiting illness and the need for palliative care increases as an illness progresses. End-of-life care can be provided by many people including family and friends, general practice and community health care and support organisations. Specialist Palliative Care supports people during the end-of-life through pain and symptom management, physical and psychological caring, and grief, bereavement and spiritual care and support.
PCQ believes that palliative care should be available from the time of diagnosis of a life limiting illness. Care and support services should also be available and intensify in the final 12 months of a patient’s life, dependent on patient preference. It is essential and critical to harmonise supports across the state, including in regional, rural and remote locations – so that services received do not become a “post code lottery.”
PCQ congratulates the Queensland Government on their Palliative Care Reform initiatives which has led to a net increase in health care professionals working within palliative care in Queensland. PCQ strongly advocates for more support within community based and non-government organisations providing palliative care.
Palliative care services can and do support people who access Voluntary Assisted Dying services. There is a need to review how palliative care supports can provide comfort to the person and their family before and after the administration of voluntary assisted dying substances.
