Go Gentle Australia released its State of VAD report in August. The landmark report summarises where we are with safe and reliable voluntary assisted dying in Australia and New Zealand. Full of data, stories and analysis to show how a compassionate end of life choice is providing relief for people at the end of their life – as well as family and friends who have been supporting them.

The State of VAD report was released at an event in Parliament House Canberra, with federal Health Minister, Hon Mark Butler, MP.

Pictured are Andrew Denton, broadcaster and founder of Go Gentle Australia, Health Minister Hon Mark Butler, MP, and Dr Linda Swann, CEO of Go Gentle Australia.

Since 2019, when the first VAD Act in Australia commenced in Victoria, 3,200 people in Australia and New Zealand have died using a VAD substance, ranging from 0.5% to 1.6% of all deaths in each state.

Around 1200 health professionals have completed the training in Australia and 140 in New Zealand. This is recognised as unsustainable due to the high case load for a few doctors who are completing many of the VAD assessments.

The limitation on doctors being allowed to identify VAD as an end of life choice in Victoria and South Australia is highlighted as a barrier, and the lack of information for people who wish to access VAD in aged care in Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia also needs to be addressed.

Further data is provided on

• disease, age, location, education, ethnicity of people requesting VAD
• self or practitioner administration
• time from first request to final request; first request to death

Around 75% of people who request and use VAD have cancer, which is similar to data from jurisdictions around the world. Around half the people using VAD die at home, their preferred place of death, compared with around 15% who die at home in the general population. Around 80% of people requesting VAD were in a palliative care service.

The report recognises the essential and invaluable role of the VAD Care Navigator service established in each state to support people requesting VAD, families and friends, doctors, nurses and other health professionals – described by one GP in WA as ‘the glue that holds the voluntary assisted dying service together’.

The report identifies areas for reform, such as removal of the gag clause in Victoria and WA, access to telehealth (limited by Commonwealth law) and the arbitrary barrier imposed by the 6 to 12 month prognosis (not included in the ACT VAD Act).

See the full report here.