The ACT Government believes all Canberrans should have end of life choices that align with their rights, preferences and values. Canberrans should have access to quality health care, including end of life care, when they need it. However, we know that even with the best end of life care, some Canberrans with an advanced condition, illness or disease experience suffering near the end of their lives.

To promote the autonomy and dignity of those people, the ACT Government will consider how to approach and regulate access to voluntary assisted dying, as all states in Australia have done. Eligible people should be able to make informed choices about the end of their lives, with the support of health professionals and services.

The ACT Government knows most Canberrans support voluntary assisted dying. We are interested in understanding how our communities want voluntary assisted dying to be approached in the ACT. Voluntary assisted dying is a safe and effective medical process that gives an eligible person the option to end their suffering by choosing how and when they die. 

We will engage directly with health professionals and stakeholders and with the community through YourSay on the following themes;

• Eligibility - Who should have access to voluntary assisted dying?
• Process - What process should a person follow to access voluntary dying?
• The role of health professionals and health services
• How could we monitor voluntary assisted dying to make sure the process is safe and effective?

You can read short, simple Discussion Guides about key topics by clicking on each box below.

When you click each box, you will find the Discussion Guides in the following languages:

• Easy English
• English
• Arabic / عربي
• Simplified Chinese / 简体中文
• Farsi/Persian / فارسی
• Spanish / Español
• Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt

Your views will help inform the government how the community would like to be engaged and updated throughout the process of introducing voluntary assisted dying model in the ACT to ensure the community is kept well informed about this topic.