Fresh calls to change Commonwealth law blocking voluntary assisted dying access for regional patients

There are mounting calls to end a long-standing ban on doctors conducting telehealth consultations about voluntary assisted dying, with advocates saying terminally ill regional patients are dying before they can access in-person care. Commonwealth laws enacted in the 1990s forbid using a carriage service — such as phone or the internet — to “counsel or incite” suicide, which inadvertently prevents doctors using telehealth to talk to patients about VAD. The legislation continues to blockade WA regional patients trying to access VAD, instead forcing them to wait for a trained practitioner to visit them for mandatory face-to-face appointments or potentially make long trips for an assessment while terminally ill. WA’s Tony Buti is among State attorney-generals supporting fresh calls from advocacy groups for Canberra to amend the law. WA Independent Kate Chaney tried to introduce a Bill amending the legislation in 2024 but it was not passed. “Since I introduced my private member’s bill more than two years ago, voluntary assisted dying has become available almost everywhere in Australia, making this anomaly increasingly indefensible,” the Curtin MP said. “I’m aware of cases in regional Western Australia where people have died without access to VAD or have been forced to travel long distances, often in severe pain, to see a doctor face-to-face. “That inequity is unacceptable. Where you live should not determine whether you can access dignity at the end of your life.” She has now written again to the Federal Attorney-General calling for the amendment, which comes alongside calls from WA Attorney-General Tony Buti. “WA was one of the first places in Australia to introduce comprehensive VAD laws, giving people at the end of life a safe and compassionate option,” he said. “However, the potential for clinicians to be exposed to criminal liability under Commonwealth where they use a carriage service when carrying out an action, which is lawful under WA VAD laws has been of ongoing concern.” VAD trained doctor Lauren Gibson said she had seen a number of her patients die before they could complete their assessment because a practitioner could not visit them in time. “Before we got told that we weren’t allowed to do telehealth, it did assist a lot with not having to travel as far and for these people to actually get timely intervention,” she said. “It’s not uncommon for there to be a delay for these rural patients so it means they are more likely to lose capacity or die so it’s another example of that gap between metro and rural health. “It can be very distressing for patients and families not being able to access VAD in a timely manner.” “Legally, we have to send paper scripts so we’re relying on the post and I have had scripts go all over the state instead of where they’re supposed to be,” Dr Gibson said. “Sending paper scripts, rather than being able to upload a script electronically, causes significant delays around when the drugs can actually be delivered.” Go Gentle Australia chief executive Linda Swan said this was greatly impacting WA due to the spread out population and a lack of VAD trained practitioners. “The fact that this hasn’t been addressed by the Federal Government is incredibly annoying and distressing,” she said. “WA would be one of the jurisdictions most impacted by this, because what it means is that doctors and pharmacists have to drive long distances to deliver care face-to-face, and sometimes that just can’t happen — it can’t be organised in time to meet the person’s needs. “We’re talking about people right at the end of their life and sometimes, in those circumstances, it’s hard to take everything on board so wouldn’t it be nice if you could just to pick up a telephone and ask someone . . . that sort of sensible use of telehealth, it’s ludicrous in this day and age that we can’t utilise that.”