What you can do
Contact your State MP now.
A new Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill was tabled in both Houses of the South Australian Parliament on December 2, 2020. The VAD Bill was tabled by Hon Kyam Maher in the Legislative Council and Hon Susan Close in the House of Assembly. (See details here.)
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.
Now is the time to be active.
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 - have legalised voluntary assisted dying (the WA VAD Act comes into operation in the first half of 2021).
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.
And remember the Legislative Council – the Upper House.
Legislation needs to get through both Houses of the Parliament, the Legislative Council as well as the House of Assembly. Legislative Councillors represent the whole state – so every Legislative Councillor is aiming to represent you. Contact as many of them as you can. Ask them the same questions.
Find a list of Legislative Councillors here.
All members of the 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
- Ring members of the Legislative Council
- Email members of the Legislative Council
- Write to members of the Legislative Council
- Attend the next VADSA Public Meeting, held regularly at The Box Factory, Regent St Sth, Adelaide
Note: During Covid-19 restrictions Regent St meetings have been cancelled.
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: info@vadsa.org.au
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 SAVES 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 advedit@theadvertiser.com.au.
Letter to the Editor, InDaily can be sent to indaily@solsticemedia.com.au.
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
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join one of the Advocacy Groups - there is no joining fee
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join us on facebook
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attend VADSA meetings and rallies
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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.)
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ask your library (or public venue) to host a VADSA display; it is 6 panels, 2 metres high; includes brochures
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ask your community organisation to invite a VADSA speaker
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ask your doctor to display VADSA brochures in their waiting rooms
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encourage family and friends to join VADSA or give a donation
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let us know if you have particular skills which can be of help.
