Euthanasia in Australia — Catholic Arena

The editor of Catholic Arena asked about the Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia laws in Australia recently. I was fairly certain that the whole of Oz has introduced Assisted Suicide, but was uncertain as to whether they included euthanasia — the health-care provider killing a patient directly — or not.

The simple answer is YES.

The vast majority of Australians have access to euthanasia as part of Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation which is legal in the 6 states of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria & Western Australia. (Essential parts of each law are appended below.) Note how they all use euphemism or gentle language so people may not recognize that doctors are allowed to kill their patients. That’s part of the game.

The complex answer is that ~2.5% of Ozzies do NOT have access to AS/VE because they live in one of the THREE Territories. (Like most, I thought there were only two!)

Australian Capital Territory: population ~450,000 (2022)
Northern Territory: “The T”; population ~250,000
Jervis Bay Territory: population 300-400

Jervis Bay is an historical anomaly from 1915 which gives Canberra access to the sea. It does not have an independent government, so for all intents is part of the ACT.

The 1997 law limiting the territories from enacting “end-of-life” laws was repealed in 2022. I believe legislation for both the “T” and ACT is being planned because, you know, it is discriminatory to just kill 97.5% of Australians...

Kevin Hay

If there are errors please let me know on Twi𝕏 @kevinhay77 (or email the editor who can contact me directly: editor@catholicarena.com)

APPENDIX:

Useful link to the Oz legislation: https://end-of-life.qut.edu.au/assisteddying