What you can do

5.30 pm       Wednesday, May 26       Parliament House       North Terrace       Adelaide

Now is the time to be active

Debate on the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill will resume on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 7.30pm.

Debate will take place in the House of Assembly.

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill tabled by Hon Kyam Maher in December 2020 passed through the Legislative Council on May 5, with 14 votes for and 7 against.

The amended VAD Bill was tabled by Hon Susan Close in the House of Assembly on May 12 and debate was adjourned until May 26 at 7.30 pm.  

Now is the time to ask your State MP to support more funding for palliative care, more promotion of Advanced Care Directives, and when palliative care  is insufficient - as it is in 5% to 10% of cases - the legal choice of a medically assisted death through Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation. 

Ring them                       

Email them                     

Write to them

Follow VADSA on facebook.

Follow A Peaceful End on facebook. 

Talk to your MP now

Let your MP know that by the middle of 2021, 1 in 3 Australians will have the legal right to voluntary assisted dying. The states to the east and west of South Australia - Victoria and Western Australia - as well as Tasmania, have legalised voluntary assisted dying. Voluntary Assisted Dying came into effect in Victoria in June 2019 and will come into effect in WA in July 2021, Tasmania in 2022.

​Let your MP know that  1 in 5 people in the USA now have access to VAD.

​Voluntary Assisted Dying will only become legal when a majority of MPs in both Houses of the South Australian Parliament vote for the legislation.

​In November 2016, the Death With Dignity Bill went down by one vote: 23 MPs voted for the Bill; 23 voted against; and the Speaker used his casting vote to vote the Bill down. The vote of every MP is needed.

​Find your Member of Parliament

Find out which State Electorate you live in - click here. (Enter your address or suburb in the search box at the top of the page).

Then find out who your local State MP is - click here. (Place your Electorate name in the 'Electorate' box.)

Contact your local MP and ask them to support Voluntary Assisted Dying. Find contact details here.

Talk to your neighbours, your family, your friends - and get them to talk to their MP as well.

All members of the House of Assembly and Legislative Council can be contacted at

Parliament House, North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000.

Telephone 8237 9100

Get the Facts

• Read the VADSA End of Life Choice Newsletters for ideas for your discussion with your MP
• Read the latest VADSA Bulletin
• Look at some of the information under Resources

Joint Committee on End of Life Choices

In April 2019 the South Australian Parliament established a Joint Committee on End of Life Choices (JCEOLC). The Committee reported in October 2020. You can read the report and the submissions to the JCEOLC on the SA Parliament JCEOLC website. (Note: if you have trouble downloading documents from the Parliament website using Safari, try Google Chrome.)

You can

• Ring your local State MP
• Email your local State MP
• Write to your local State MP
• Attend the next VADSA Public Meeting, held regularly at The Box Factory, Regent St Sth, Adelaide
• Attend the Candles for Compassion Vigil , 5.30pm, Wednesday, May 26

Tell VADSA what your local MP thinks about Voluntary Assisted Dying

After you contact your MP, tell VADSA what happened. What was their response. What arguments did they use. What questions did they have.

Email us: [email protected]

Create a community event

Use facebook, your community networks, friends and family to create a community event supporting VAD. Let your local radio and TV station know. Take some pictures. Tell your local MP. Use flashmob. Brainstorm ideas for events with your friends and family and local community. Examples could be a morning tea, a walk, a meeting outside your local MMP's office. And let us know at VADSA what you're planning, how we could support you, and the outcome.

Tell the media what you think

Contact your local Messenger, write to the Advertiser or InDaily, ring in on talk back radio.

Letter to the Editor, The Advertiser can be emailed to [email protected].

Letter to the Editor, InDaily can be sent to [email protected]

Invite a Speaker

Invite a speaker from VADSA to your next community organisation meeting. SAVES can provide speakers for community meetings, such as Rotary, Probus, U3A and your retirement village.

Contact Frances Coombe on 0421 305 684.

Other actions you can take

• 

  join VADSA

• join one of the Advocacy Groups - there is no joining fee

  • Doctors for Assisted Dying Choice

  • South Australian Nurses Supporting Choices in Dying

  • Lawyers for Death with Dignity

  • Voluntary Assisted Dying Youth Advocates

  • Christians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Assisted Dying

  • Paramedics Supporting End of Life Choice

  • Accessible Voluntary Assisted Dying

• join us on facebook

• attend VADSA meetings and rallies - Candles for Compassion, 5.30pm, May 26, 2021

• attend the next VADSA Public Meeting held regularly at The Box Factory, Regent St South, Adelaide. (Note: During the Covid-19 restrictions on public gatherings, 2020 public meetings have been cancelled.)

• ask your library (or public venue) to host a VADSA display; it is 6 panels, 2 metres high; includes brochures

• ask your community organisation to invite a VADSA speaker

• ask your doctor to display VADSA brochures in their waiting rooms

• encourage family and friends to join VADSA or give a donation

• let us know if you have particular skills which can be of help.