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News and updates

Thank you Associate Professor Mel Turner

17 June, 2026

Mel Turner has been the inaugural Presiding Member of the SA VAD Review Board.  Mel is now South Australia’s Chief Psychiatrist, having been the Deputy Chief Psychiatrist since 2020.  South Australia is fortunate that...

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VAD in South Australia, 2024-25

08 May, 2026

The VAD Review Board has released its 2024-2025 Annual Report which shows that VAD deaths accounted for 1.6% of deaths in South Australia in the last 12 months. There has been an increase in...

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VAD in Practice

29 September, 2025

Dr Laureen Lawlor-SmithFamily medicine practitioner, Dr Laureen Lawlor-Smith, has been practising medicine in South Australia for 35 years, now working from her clinic in Belair. When voluntary assisted dying commenced in South Australia in...

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VAD Access

04 August, 2025

VAD Access in South Australia In the first 26 months of Voluntary Assisted Dying in South Australia, 376 people used the VAD substance to end their suffering. Another 136 people had the comfort of...

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VAD Dementia Quandary Answered

21 April, 2025

Answering the VAD Dementia Quandary Dementia is the leading cause of death for women in Australia, second overall.   Access to Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) for a person with dementia is the outstanding question....

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Hopeful news from Victoria

26 February, 2025

“The Victorian Government’s release of the first review of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in Victoria last week provides us with considerable confidence that VAD has become a mainstream end of life choice,” commented Anne...

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Two Years and Counting

01 February, 2025

“January 31, 2025. “It is now two years since Voluntary Assisted Dying became a legal end of life choice in South Australia. What an amazing achievement. And how much it is appreciated by those...

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Palliative Care and VAD

16 September, 2024

The sixth quarterly report from the VAD Review Board in South Australia has a focus on palliative care and the relationship between VAD and palliative care. Data show that around 80% of people requesting...

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National VAD snapshot

16 September, 2024

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...

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VAD in the ACT

14 July, 2024

VAD in the ACT Voluntary assisted dying will become a legal end of life choice for Canberrans on November 3, 2025. The ACT VAD Act was passed by the ACT Parliament on June 5,...

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