Wednesday, 19 March 2025

 Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (17:29): On a different matter –

Harriet Shing interjected.

Ryan BATCHELOR: No, this is not about a personal vendetta. This is about a matter of substance for the state. I rise to make a statement on the Review of the Operation of Victoria’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017, which was tabled in this place in February. The report marks a critical five-year milestone. It is the five-year review since this significant and nation-leading piece of legislation was passed through this Parliament in 2019. It is legislation and a legislative framework that has been compassionate in supporting people to choose the manner and timing of their own death. Voluntary assisted dying is about dying with dignity. It is about offering people a choice. It is about ensuring that people with terminal illness can ensure that they can take steps to make informed decisions about the time of the end of their own life to reduce their suffering.

The report affirms what families, healthcare professionals and advocates have consistently told us, which is that Victoria’s voluntary assistant dying framework is operating safely, with integrity and with the utmost care for and sensitivity to all those involved. From June 2019 until the end of June 2023 more than 1500 Victorians have made the deeply personal decision to access their right to use these laws. Importantly, the five-year review confirmed that all the individuals who accessed the scheme were indeed eligible, affirming the strength of the safeguards currently in place.

The review noted that there are several issues that have emerged in the last five years. Obviously Victoria was first in the nation to pass these laws five years ago. Since that time other states have also legislated and there have been some developments in voluntary assisted dying legislation around the country in that time. We have made some recommendations seeking how, as a government, as the Parliament, we could take steps to improve the operation of the scheme and continue to support those Victorians who seek to access it.

These recommendations would improve access while preserving the strong protections around the scheme, and the government has announced it plans to make some additional changes, including the removal of the so-called gag clause, which currently prevents doctors from initiating discussions about voluntary assisted dying with their patients. The study identified this prohibition as setting up a barrier to Victorians engaging with the voluntary assisted dying process and preventing open and honest conversations between healthcare providers and their patients. Patients deserve full transparency when making these sorts of decisions, and I think this is an important step the government has announced.

A further change the government has announced it will be consulting on is for patients suffering from neurodegenerative conditions. There is a recommendation to remove the requirement for a third medical opinion. The government has accepted that to streamline the process and reduce unnecessary delays.

The review demonstrates that Victoria’s voluntary assisted dying laws remain an important part of our state. The recommendations in the report will ensure that voluntary assisted dying in Victoria remains accessible and responsive to the needs of the community. We continually have a responsibility as members of this place to listen to the community, to learn, to see how our laws are operating and to continue the process of policy reform. That work is never done. We must remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting Victorians with a framework to uphold dignity, choice and care in how they end their lives.