On 5 September 2019 Australia's peak palliative care body, Palliative Care Australia updated its position on voluntary assisted dying. They are no longer opposed to VAD and have adopted a neutral position. Palliative Care Australia (PCA) Board Chair Dr Jane Fischer says the organisation has updated its position...
On Tuesday 3 September 2019 Members of Western Australian Parliament, from across the political spectrum, joined hundreds of supporters rallying outside Parliament House before the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2019 faced its first major hurdle. Premier Mark McGowan, Health Minister Roger Cook and dozens of other...
On Tuesday 6 August 2019, the same day that Belinda Teh completed her 'brave walk' from Melbourne to Perth, the McGowan Government released details of its much anticipated Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill. Speaking from the steps of Parliament House, the Premier Mark McGowan told hundreds of...
On Tuesday 6 August 2019 hundreds of supporters, including former cricketer Adam Gilchrist and high-profile assisted dying advocate, Andrew Denton, joined Belinda Teh for the final 1 km walk from Kings Park in Perth to Western Australia's Parliament House. There she was greeted by even...
Our Autumn 2019 Newsletter aims to bring everyone up-to-date with the latest developments from across Australia and around the world. The Victorian Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) law came into effect on 19 June 2019 after an 18 month implementation period and as we predicted the passage...
Voluntary assisted dying advocate and former President of Dying with Dignity Victoria, Dr Rodney Syme has been awarded an AM, a Member of the Order of Australia, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. In October last year Dying with Dignity NSW was one of a number of...
A number of Dying with Dignity NSW members and supporters have been asking which candidates in the upcoming federal election support voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws. Assisted dying is strictly speaking a state issue; however, we know that opposition to VAD can affect related bills...
Approximately 60 people attended the 2019 Dying with Dignity NSW AGM on Saturday 27 April. In her President's Report, Penny Hackett explained why 2018 had turned out to be a busier year than expected. Although there wasn't a NSW VAD Bill debated during 2018, staff changes,...
Our President, Penny Hackett was interviewed for this editorial piece for the Sydney Morning Herald that was published on Wednesday 10 April 2019. In an ideal world, everyone would experience a ‘good death’ – pain free and without trauma. With scientific and medical advancements curing diseases...
Our Autumn 2019 Newsletter aims to bring everyone up-to-date with the latest developments from across Australia and around the world. The NSW Election on Saturday 23 March is a chance to send a message to MPs about the overwhelming support in the community for voluntary assisted...
Many news outlets are reporting that Victoria's Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) Act comes into effect in mid 2019, and how other Parliaments around the country are likely to implement similar reforms. Moves are afoot in Western Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland. Marshall Perron,...
On Sunday 11 November 2018, five hundred people gathered at North Sydney Leagues Club to hear Andrew Denton in conversation with a panel of eminent health professionals as they discussed the reality of end of life care in Australia and the choices we face when...