(QLD) Removing State Residency Requirements for Voluntary Assisted Dying in Queensland

Reported by: Christopher Noonan

Publish date: 1/09/24

Problem Identification: 

To be eligible to receive Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) in Queensland, one must have been ordinarily resident in the state for at least 12 months, or be granted an exemption. 

Queensland’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021 states that an eligible patient for VAD, ‘has been ordinarily resident in Queensland for at least 12 months immediately before the person makes the first request; or has been granted a Queensland residency exemption by the chief executive’. 

This requirement constitutes further administrative barriers for those patients hoping to receive VAD. 

Context: 

Solution Identification: 

Advice: 

Download the 1-page policy brief PDF here:

(QLD) Removing State Residency Requirements for Queensland.pdf

.pdf

Download PDF • 68KB

If your organisation would like to add your support to this paper please email Info@foreaustralia.com.

If you have any ammendment suggestions please reach out to Info@foreaustralia.com

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Endorsed by: 

Dr Katrine Del Villar

Public Support: 

Katherine Waller

Dr Aidan Ricciardo

Dying with Dignity Victoria

Go Gentle Australia

Voluntary Assisted Dying Australia and New Zealand 

Where to go to learn more: 

1. Waller, K., Del Villar, K., Willmott, L. and White, B.P., 2023. Voluntary assisted dying in Australia: a comparative and critical analysis of state laws. https://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Issue-464-10-Waller-et-al.pdf 

2. Go Gentle Australia, Submission to the Centre For Evaluation and Research Evidence at the Victorian Department of Health (Feb 2024). https://assets.nationbuilder.com/gogentleaustralia/pages/3000/attachments/original/1708908681/Final_-_GGA_submission_to_Vic_Review_-_Feb23.pdf?1708908681

3. Keane Bourke, “Voluntary assisted dying almost universally available in Australia, but residency requirements block some from accessing it” (Jul 2024). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-12/residency-requirements-blocking-access-to-vad/104050352 

Lived Experience: 

John’s Story: John was 73 when he was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer in New South Wales. His condition progressed quickly, and he soon found himself with intolerable suffering that pain medications were unable to relieve. Doctors told John that he had less than six months to live, and that his suffering would only get worse. John felt passionately that he should have the autonomy to decide how his life should end, and asked his doctor to help him apply for Voluntary Assisted Dying. Part of this application process involved proving that John had been ordinarily resident in New South Wales for the last 12 months. Because John did not have a fixed place of residence, this proved to be especially difficult. Quickly, John became too ill to continue with the application process, and died in pain without having received VAD. This painful, undignified death could have been avoided if the application process for VAD was quicker, and if John was not required to prove his state-residency. 

Reference list (name, date): 

Cohen, I. G., Adashi, E. Y., & Pope, T. M. (2022). Traveling Across States for Prohibited Treatments: Medical Aid in Dying and Looming Battles Over Abortion. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-022-07898-3

1. Directorate, J. and C. S. (2023, February 7). Voluntary assisted dying laws in the ACT. Www.justice.act.gov.au. https://www.justice.act.gov.au/justice-programs-and-initiatives/voluntary-assisted-dying-laws-in-the-act

2. Eligibility Criteria for Voluntary Assisted Dying (2023). Qld.gov.au.    https://www.qld.gov.au/health/support/voluntary-assisted-dying/explained/eligibility-criteria#:~:text=Proof%20of%20Queensland%20residency%20and,on%20the%20Queensland%20electoral%20roll 

3. Go Gentle Australia. (2024). Submission to the Victorian review of the operation of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017.https://assets.nationbuilder.com/gogentleaustralia/pages/3000/attachments/original/1708908681/Final_-_GGA_submission_to_Vic_Review_-_Feb23.pdf?1708908681

4. K, W., K, D. V., L, W., & BP, W. (2023). Voluntary assisted dying in Australia: a comparative and critical analysis of state laws. UNSW Law Journal , 46(4).

5. Keane, B. (2024, July 11). Voluntary assisted dying almost universally available in Australia, but residency requirements block some from accessing it. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-12/residency-requirements-blocking-access-to-vad/104050352

6. May, N., & Luca Ittimani. (2024, August 11). Too complex, too late: the guardrails acting as roadblocks to voluntary assisted dying across Australia. The Guardian; The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/aug/12/too-complex-too-late-the-guardrails-acting-as-roadblocks-to-voluntary-assisted-dying-across-australia

7. Submission to the Centre for Evaluation and Research Evidence at the Victorian Department of Health. (2024). Dying with Dignity Victoria . https://www.dwdv.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/DWDV-submission-to-Victorian-VAD-5-Year-Review.pdf 

8. Voluntary assisted dying exemptions. (2021). Qld.gov.au. https://www.qld.gov.au/health/support/voluntary-assisted-dying/explained/exemptions

9. Vermont Ethics Network (n. d.). Medical Aid in Dying, Act 39: Patient Choice and Control at the End of Life. www.vtethicsnetwork.org https://vtethicsnetwork.org/palliative-and-end-of-life-care/medical-aid-in-dying-act-39#:~:text=In%20May%20of%202023%2C%20Vermont,in%20which%20they%20legally%20reside.  

10. Voluntary Assisted Dying Act, 2021 (QLD). 

11. Voluntary Assisted Dying Australia and New Zealand. (2024). Submission to Review of the operation of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Victoria). https://www.vadanz.com.au/content/uploads/VIC-VAD-Review-VADANZ-submission.pdf

12. Voluntary assisted dying exemptions. (2021). Qld.gov.au. https://www.qld.gov.au/health/support/voluntary-assisted-dying/explained/exemptions

13. Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in the Northern Territory | Have Your Say Northern Territory. (n.d.). Haveyoursay.nt.gov.au. https://haveyoursay.nt.gov.au/vad 

14. Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board. (2020). Report of operations. Safer Care Victoria .

15. White, B., Jeanneret, R., Close, E., & Willmott, L. (2023). Access to voluntary assisted dying in Victoria: a qualitative study of family caregivers’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators. The Medical Journal of Australia, 219(5). https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52004

Conflict of interest / acknowledgment statement:

N/a