Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is now an available end-of-life choice everywhere in Australia, except the Northern Territory. Many patients will wish to have conversations about VAD with their general practitioner (GP), as a known and trusted first point of contact for health concerns. This article outlines GPs’ legal and professional requirements for engaging in these...

This chapter examines the concepts of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) and the law and regulation that govern it. The chapter begins by defining VAD and outlining why this term was chosen, given the range of terminology choices in this field. It then examines what is meant by law, regulation and practice in the context of...

Regulation aims to enhance the safety and quality of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) and promote compliance with legal and system requirements. This chapter proposes that VAD regulation is more likely to be effective when it is designed in a holistic way. Research into and evaluations of VAD regulation should also adopt holistic approaches.

Patients seeking to access voluntary assisted dying (VAD) are likely to be concurrently receiving care from institutions with different levels of participation in VAD. This article reports on the various institutional approaches to VAD based on interviews with regulators. Overall, the findings revealed significant diversity in how institutions approached various VAD activities.

Advance care planning (ACP) and related medical treatment legislation enable individuals to maintain choice and control over their health-care decisions in the event they lose decision-making capacity in the future.The ultimate goal of ACP is that people receive medical care that is consistent with their preferences.