Laws regardingeuthanasia orassisted suicide inAustralia are matters forstate and territory governments. As of November 2025 allstates and theAustralian Capital Territory have implemented schemes providing assisted suicide and euthanasia for eligible individuals. These laws typically refer to the practices as "voluntary assisted dying".

Voluntary assisted dying schemes have been in effect in the following states and territories;Victoria since 19 June 2019,^[1]Western Australia since 1 July 2021,^[2]Tasmania since 23 October 2022,^[3]Queensland since 1 January 2023,^[4]South Australia since 31 January 2023,^[5]New South Wales since 28 November 2023^[6] and theAustralian Capital Territory since 3 November 2025.^[7]

Voluntary euthanasia and assisted dying is currently unlawful in theNorthern Territory. Federal law prohibited the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory from legislating for the practice between 1997 and 2022. This federal ban was in response to the legalisation of euthanasia for a period between 1996 and 1997 in the Northern Territory.^[8]

Throughout Australia a patient can elect not to receive any treatment for a terminal illness and can also elect to have their life support turned off.^[9] Advance care planning is also available throughout Australia.^[10]

Although historically it was usually a crime to assist in euthanasia and suicide, prosecutions were rare. In 2010, theNew South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal quashed amanslaughter conviction of aSydney woman who had previously been found guilty of killing her partner of 18 years with a euthanasia drug.^[11][12] In 2002, relatives and friends who provided moral support to an elderly woman who committed suicide were extensively investigated by police, but no charges were laid.

In Tasmania in 2005 a nurse was convicted of assisting in the death of her elderly father, who had terminal cancer, and trying to kill her mother, who was in the early stages of dementia.^[13] She was sentenced to two and a half years in jail but the judge later suspended the conviction because he believed the community did not want the woman jailed. This sparked debate about decriminalising euthanasia.^[14]

In 2009 Shirley Justins and Caren Jennings, were found guilty ofmanslaughter and accessory to manslaughter respectively for providingNembutal to former pilot Graeme Wylie in 2006. Justins stated that Wylie wanted to "die with dignity". The prosecution argued that Graeme Wylie did not have the mental capacity to make the crucial decision to end his life, classing it asinvoluntary euthanasia.^[15]

Exit International made TV ads arguing for voluntary euthanasia, which were banned just before they were scheduled to broadcast in September 2010.^[16] The following year theSupreme Court of New South Wales gave a two-year suspended sentence to a 66-year-old man who had facilitated the death of his long-term 78-year-old partner by helping her overdose on drugs and suffocating her. The deceased suffered from severe pain arising from a spinal condition. Furthermore, the deceased had expressed a wish to die in a suicide note written prior to her death. The court convicted the man of manslaughter. The court accounted for the accused's substantial impairment at the time the act was committed as well the fact that he voluntarily revealed his involvement in the commission of the offence.^[17]

As of November 2014, 29 bills had been presented in Australian parliaments that sought to legalise access to voluntary euthanasia or physician-assisted dying.^[18]

An omission to provide life-sustaining medical treatment is lawful in Australia, unless the patient is deemed mentally incapable of consent.^[19]

As euthanasia is not a legislative power granted to the Federal Parliament underSection 51 of the Constitution of Australia, federal law cannot explicitly legalise or criminalise the practice. The subject is a matter for state parliaments.

Despite the power to legislate for euthanasia being held by the states, underSection 122 of the Constitution of Australia the Federal Parliament has the power to override any law passed by a territory parliament.^[20] This occurred in 1997, when the Federal Parliament passed theEuthanasia Laws Act 1997, originally introduced as aprivate member's bill byLiberal MPKevin Andrews.^[21] The legislation passed theSenate by 38 votes to 33 in March 1997, having previously passed theHouse of Representatives by 88 votes to 35 in December 1996.^{[22][23][24][25]} The law amended theNorthern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 andAustralian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 to explicitly prevent theNorthern Territory Parliament andAustralian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from legislating to allow euthanasia or assisted suicide.^[26][27] An identical ban was placed into theNorfolk Island Act 1979, which was later repealed as part of the abolition of self-government onNorfolk Island by theAbbott government in 2015.^[28] As well as removing the power of those territories to legalise euthanasia, the Act specifically repealed the provisions of theRights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 (NT), which had previously been passed by the Northern Territory Parliament and allowed euthanasia to occur in the territory in the intervening period.

Over the following 20 years there were nine bills introduced to the parliament to repeal Andrews' legislation, though at no point did any repeal legislation come to a vote on the floor of either chamber of parliament.^[29][30] In 2018 the thenLiberal Democratic Party (now called theLibertarian Party) Senator,David Leyonhjelm re-introduced a bill into theSenate to remove the federal ban on the ACT and Northern Territory legislating for euthanasia. Leyonhjelm's bill was given priority in the Senate after he secured theTurnbull government's agreement for aconscience vote in the Senate and possibly the House of Representatives (the question of the government permitting a vote in the House was unresolved),^[31] in exchange for his support to reinstate theAustralian Building and Construction Commission.^[31] TheLiberal/Nationalgovernment, oppositionLabor Party and several minor partycrossbenchers held a conscience vote on the legislation. Despite Leyonhjelm expressing optimism for the bill's prospects,^[31] it was defeated in the Senate by 36 votes to 34.^[32][33]

TheEuthanasia Laws Act remained in effect, even as all six state parliaments passed their own versions of assisted dying legislation between 2017 and 2022. The formerMorrison government rejected requests by the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Northern Territory governments to repeal the law.^[37][38] TheAlbanese Government, elected inMay 2022, endorsed aconscience vote on repeal legislation that was introduced byLabor MPsLuke Gosling andAlicia Payne on 1 August 2022.^[39][40] The bill, titled theRestoring Territory Rights Bill 2022, removed the sections of the federal self-government acts for the ACT and Northern Territory that prevented those legislatures from passing euthanasia laws.^[41] It did not restore the Northern Territory's euthanasia law that was nullified by the federal parliament in 1997.^[41] Debate of the bill was prioritised by the government,^[40][42] and was approved by 99 votes to 37 in the House of Representatives on 3 August 2022.^[43][44] The bill passed its second reading in the Senate on 24 November 2022 by 41 votes to 25.^[45] It passed its third reading in the Senate on 1 December 2022, with no division called.^[46] The legislation receivedroyal assent on 13 December 2022 and took immediate effect.^[47]

TheHoward government oversaw the passage of the Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material Offences) Act 2005, which passed theFederal Parliament in June 2005,^[49] and made it a crime to use a telephone, fax, email or internet carriage service to discuss the practicalities of suicide-related material.^[50][51][52] The law prompted the Victorian Health Minister to recommend doctors discuss voluntary assisted dying exclusively in person with their patients, so they would not run foul of the federal law.^[52] Western Australia's assisted dying law explicitly states that voluntary assisted dying is not suicide.^[52]

The presence of the federal law and its relationship with state laws that created lawful assisted dying schemes resulted in a legal grey area over whether voluntary assisted dying, as authorised by a state/territory law, constitutes ‘suicide’ within the meaning of the carriage service offences contained in the Commonwealth Criminal Code.^[53] In 2023 a Melbourne GP pursued legal action in theFederal Court to clarify the definition of suicide in the federal criminal code and its applicability to state-based assisted dying legislation. In November 2023 the court ruled that the law made it illegal fortelehealth consultations concerning assisted dying to be conducted. Justice Wendy Abraham found that the term suicide, as used in the criminal code, applies to the ending of a person's life through voluntary assisted dying.^[54][55] The ruling prompted independent MPKate Chaney to introduce a bill to federal parliament in February 2024, to amend the Code to make it clear that voluntary assisted dying services are not within the definition of suicide and therefore can be accessed via telehealth and carriage services according to state assisted dying laws.^[56][57] The bill did not proceed to a vote prior to the2025 election.^[58] Prime MinisterAnthony Albanese has previously voiced his objection to the notion of assisted dying being captured by telehealth and carriage services.^[59]

Australian Capital Territory (ACT) governments had regularly advocated for the right to legalise euthanasia-related schemes between 1997 and 2022, when the federal ban was in practice. Shortly after the federal ban was repealed, theACT government confirmed it would seek to introduce legislation into theACT Legislative Assembly in 2023 to permit voluntary assisted dying.^[60] A formal consultation period was opened by the government in February 2023,^[61] which culminated in a report endorsing the establishment of a voluntary assisted dying scheme, published on 29 June 2023.^[62] On 31 October 2023, theVoluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2023 was introduced into the Legislative Assembly.^[63][64] Under the legislation, a person would be eligible for voluntary assisted dying if they are aged over 18, seeking it voluntarily with decision-making capability, intolerably suffering an advanced-progressive condition expected to cause death, and lives local to the ACT for at least 12 months or with a significant Canberra connection.^[64] The bill was referred to a select committee for further consultation, which reported back on 29 February 2024.^[65][66][67] The committee recommended several alterations to the bill including clarifying terms such as ‘advanced’ and ‘last stages of life’. Liberals committee membersLeanne Castley andEd Cocks recommended that the bill not be passed, describing it as “the most ideological and extreme assisted dying legislation in the country”, while Greens memberAndrew Braddock supported the bill and recommended it be expanded to include people withdementia who had lost individual decision-making capacity.^[68]

The legislation returned for debate in the Assembly and was passed by the chamber on 5 June 2024, with 20 votes in favour and five against.^[69] Under the finalised legislation, people will become eligible to begin the process of accessing the scheme if they are at least 18 years old and seeking voluntary assisted dying voluntarily with decision-making capability. Further, they will have to show that they are intolerably suffering an advanced, progressive condition expected to cause death and that they have been local to the ACT for at least 12 months, or have a significantCanberra connection.^[70] The individual then accesses a "multi-step request and assessment process", requiring independent assessment by two qualified health professionals.^[71][72] The scheme differs from the tenets of other state-based schemes, namely; patients do not need to have a specific time frame until they are expected to die, one of the two health practitioners who assess someone's eligibility may be a nurse practitioner, and patients who receive treatment in institutions (such as hospitals) that object to voluntary assisted dying will have a greater ability to access it than in the states.^[73] The legislation was notified on 19 June 2024^[70][74] and went into effect on 3 November 2025.^[7][75]

On 21 September 2017National PartyMLCTrevor Khan introduced the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 into theNew South Wales Parliament. The Bill was modelled onthe Oregon Death With Dignity Act, and was developed by a cross party working group that considered 72 "substantial" submissions.^[77] The Bill contained what advocates labelled a "raft of safeguards" including a seven-person oversight board to review all assisted deaths.^[78] The upper house debated the bill throughout several sittings in November 2017, and on 16 November the bill was voted down 20 votes to 19.^[79]

In October 2021 independent MLAAlex Greenwich introduced theVoluntary Assisted Dying Bill into the lower house of the Parliament.^[80] The legislation was subjected to a cross-partyconscience vote, afterPremier and Liberal Party leaderDominic Perrottet indicated he would grant Liberal members a conscience vote.^[81][82] The legislation was passed in theLegislative Assembly on 26 November 2021 by 52 votes to 32, and proceeded to theLegislative Council.^[80][83] The bill passed the Legislative Council by 23 votes to 15 on 19 May 2022, with amendments attached, that were agreed to by the Assembly that same day.^[80][84] The legislation receivedroyal assent on 27 May 2022, and went into effect 18 months thereafter (i.e: 28 November 2023).^[85][86][6] New South Wales was the last of the six Australian states to legislate for assisted dying.^[87]

Under the provisions of the legislation, a person may make a request for a voluntary assisted death to a specialist doctor, which is lodged with the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board.^[88] If the doctor is satisfied that the person has the capacity to make the decision and is doing so voluntarily and determines that the person meets the criteria (i.e: they have a terminal illness that will result in death within six months, or a neurodegenerative condition that will result in death within 12 months, and whose suffering is such that it creates a painful condition that cannot be tolerably relieved), they can approve the request.^[88] The same process must then be followed by a second independent doctor.^[88] The person may then make a written request declaring their intention to end their life, which must be witnessed by two people and then be submitted to the board. A final request must be made five days later and a review done by the first doctor, who can then apply to the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board to allow access to a substance to end their patient's life.^[88] The person may administer the relevant substance themselves or have a health practitioner do it.^[88][89]

Euthanasia was legalised inAustralia'sNorthern Territory, by theRights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995. It passed theNorthern Territory Legislative Assembly by a vote of 15 to 10. In August 1996 a repeal bill was brought before the Parliament but was defeated by 14 votes to 11.^[90] The law was later voided by the federalEuthanasia Laws Act 1997,^[22] which is a federal law that was in effect until 13 December 2022^[47] and prevented parliaments of territories (Specifically the Northern Territory, theAustralian Capital Territory andNorfolk Island) from legalising euthanasia or assisted dying. Before the federal override occurred, three people died through physicianassisted suicide under the legislation, aided by DrPhilip Nitschke. The first person was a carpenter,Bob Dent, who died on 22 September 1996.^[91]

Following the repeal of the federal ban on territory-based euthanasia legislation, the Northern TerritoryLabor government announced the formation of a community consultation process "for developing a framework for voluntary assisted dying", submissions for which closed in May 2024.^[93] The process culminated in the release of a report by an independent expert advisory panel, co-chaired by the Hon Vicki O’Halloran AO CVO and Duncan McConnel SC, which recommended a voluntary assisted dying scheme be established in the Northern Territory.^[94] No legislation was brought to the parliament prior to the2024 general election, at which the incumbent Labor government committed to tabling an assisted dying bill in the next parliament and the opposition Country Liberal Party (CLP) was noncommittal on the issue.^[95]

In May 2025 theCLP government tasked theLegislative Assembly's Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee with inquiring into the aforementioned report and a potential assisted dying scheme in the Northern Territory.^[96][97] The committee issued its report in September 2025, and recommended that a voluntary assisted dying scheme similar to the Australian Capital Territory's scheme be implemented.^[98][99] Subsequently the acting Chief Minister,Gerard Maley, confirmed the government would draft legislation to be introduced to the Legislative Assembly at a later date.^[100]

In November 2018, the Premier of Queensland,Annastacia Palaszczuk, launched an inquiry considering the possible legalisation of voluntary assisted dying in the state. The inquiry also took into account care of the aged, end of life, and palliative care.^[101]

In May 2021, Palaszczuk announced that voluntary assisted dying legislation would be introduced to theQueensland Parliament for consideration.^[102] The bill would allow euthanasia, if the patient meets the following criteria:^[103]

• Has an eligible condition that is advanced and progressive, with the potential for death within the subsequent 12 months;
• Is capable of making a decision with sound mind;
• Is acting voluntarily and without coercion;
• Is at least 18 years old; and
• Is a resident of Australia and has lived in Queensland for at least twelve months.

On 16 September 2021, theQueensland Legislative Assembly passed theVoluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021 with 61 votes in favour and 31 opposed.^[104] The legislation was subject to aconscience vote.^[105] It receivedroyal assent on 23 September 2021 went into effect on 1 January 2023.^[106]

In November 2016, theSouth Australian House of Assembly narrowly rejected a private member's bill which would have legalised a right to request voluntary euthanasia in circumstances where a person is in unbearable pain and suffering from a terminal illness. The bill was the first ever euthanasia bill to pass a second reading stage (27 votes to 19) though the bill was rejected during the clauses debate of the bill (23 votes all, with the Speaker's casting vote against the bill).^[109]

In late June 2021, a voluntary euthanasia bill similar to that of other states passed theParliament of South Australia.^[110] The legislation mirrors most of the provisions of theVictorian law, though also allows private hospitals and individual practitioners to conscientiously object from participating in the scheme, provided they refer patients to a place where they can access the scheme. Residents in aged care and retirement villages can also access the scheme in their own homes or units.^[110] TheVoluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021 went into effect on 31 January 2023.^{[5][111][112][113]}

Tasmania first saw voluntary euthanasia legislation voted on in 2009 when Greens leaderNick McKim's 'Dying with Dignity' bill was voted down on 3 November 2009 by a vote of 15–7 in theHouse of Assembly. The vote saw all fourGreens voting for the bill, six of theLiberals voting against the bill with one absent, andLabor splitting three voting for the bill and nine voted against the bill with two absent.^[116][117]

Tasmania came close to legalising voluntary euthanasia in November 2013, when aGreens-initiated voluntary euthanasia bill was narrowly defeated in theHouse of Assembly by a vote of 13–12. The bill would have allowed terminally ill Tasmanians to end their lives 10 days after making three separate requests to their doctor. Although both major parties allowed aconscience vote, all tenLiberals voted against the legislation, withLabor splitting seven in favour and three against, and all five Greens voting in favour.^[118]

In May 2017, a bill co-sponsored by former Labor PremierLara Giddings and Greens leaderCassy O'Connor was defeated in theHouse of Assembly by a vote of 16–6.^[119] The bill proposed allowing people with an eligible medical condition to voluntarily end their lives using a lethal drug after being judged to be competent, and having a specialist and two independent doctors sign off on eligibility.^[119] Both major parties allowed aconscience vote withLabor splitting four in favour and three against, and theLiberals splitting one in favour and thirteen against, and all three Greens voting in favour.^[119]Nic Street became the first TasmanianLiberal MP to vote in support of legalising voluntary euthanasia legislation.^[119]

In December 2019, independentLegislative Council memberMike Gaffney announced he would introduce aprivate member's bill to legalise voluntary assisted dying the following year.^[120] TheEnd of Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) Bill was introduced to the Council on 27 August and was passed on 10 November 2020, without a formal vote being recorded. It proceeded to the Legislative Assembly, where it was passed with amendments attached on 4 March 2021 by 16 votes to 6.^[121][122] After the Council approved of the Assembly's amendments,^[123] the legislation receivedroyal assent on 22 April 2021.^[124] The legislation went into effect on 23 October 2022.^[3]

Under the provisions of the legislation, in order to access the scheme a person must be at least 18 years of age, have decision-making capacity, be acting voluntarily and be suffering intolerably from a medical condition that is advanced, incurable, irreversible and will cause the person's death in the next six months, or 12 months for neurodegenerative disorders.^[123] The person must also be anAustralian citizen or have resided in the country for at least three continuous years, and for at least 12 months in Tasmania immediately before making their first request. In total three separate requests must be made to access the scheme, each of which comes with progressively more stringent checks and balances.^[123]

Since 19 June 2019, Victoria permitsassisted dying. On 20 September 2017, the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017 was introduced into theVictorian Parliament by theAndrewsLabor Government, permittingassisted suicide. The bill was modelled on the recommendations of an expert panel chaired by formerAustralian Medical Association presidentProfessor Brian Owler.^[125] The bill passed the parliament, with amendments made in theLegislative Council, on 29 November 2017. The upper house voted in favour 22 votes to 18. The lower house voted in favour 47 votes to 37.^[126] In passing the bill, Victoria became the first state to legislate for voluntary assisted dying (VAD). The law receivedroyal assent on 5 December 2017 and came into effect on 19 June 2019.^{[126][127][128]} Implementation of the legislation was an ongoing process which took approximately 18 months.^[129][130] Challenges identified with implementation which were by noted by theMedical Journal of Australia included restricting access to those who were eligible, while ensuring it did not unfairly prevent those who were eligible from accessing it and translating the legislation into appropriate clinical practice, as well as supporting and managing doctors with conscientious objections.^[129]

Under the provisions of the legislation, assisted suicide (otherwise referred to asvoluntary assisted dying) may be available in Victoria under the following conditions:^[131]

• A person must be suffering from an incurable, advanced and progressive disease, illness or medical condition, and experiencing intolerable suffering.
• The condition must be assessed by two medical practitioners to be expected to cause death within six months (an exception exists for a person suffering from aneurodegenerative condition, where instead the condition must be expected to cause death within 12 months).
• A person must be over the age of 18 and have lived in Victoria for at least 12 months and have decision-making capacity.
• Though mental illness or disability are not grounds for access, people who meet all other criteria and who have a disability or mental illness will not be denied access to assisted dying.

Other processes and safeguards associated with the scheme are in place.^[131] In October 2025 the government introduced legislation which expanded the eligibility timeframe for all terminal diagnoses from six to 12 months and removed the "gag clause" which forbade doctors from initiating conversations about voluntary assisted dying with patients.^[132][133]

In November 2018 theMcGowan Government announced it would introduce an assisted dying bill early in the new year.^[136]

On 10 December 2019, theVoluntary Assisted Dying Act 2019 passed theWestern Australian Parliament.^[137] The legislation had passed theLegislative Council by 24 votes to 11, having previously passed theLegislative Assembly 45 votes to 11.^[138] Under the legislation, an eligible person would have to be terminally ill with a condition that is causing intolerable suffering and is likely to cause death within six months, or 12 months for a neurodegenerative condition. The person would have to make two verbal requests and one written request, with each request signed off by two independent doctors. Self-administration of lethal medication is then permitted, though in a departure from the Victorian system, a patient can choose for a medical practitioner to administer the drug.^[137][139] The legislation goes into effect on a day to be fixed by proclamation, though the government has advised of an 18-month implementation period.^[137][140] The law went into effect on 1 July 2021.^[141][142]

The euthanasia advocacy groupYourLastRight.com^[143] is thepeak organisation nationally representing the "Dying with Dignity" associations of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania,^[144] as well as theSouth Australian Voluntary Euthanasia Society (SAVES),^[145] theWestern Australian Voluntary Euthanasia Society (WAVES)^[146] and theNorthern Territory Voluntary Euthanasia Society (NTVES).^[147]

Exit International is an Australian euthanasia advocacy group founded byPhilip Nitschke. Other Australian groups includeChristians Supporting Choice for Voluntary Euthanasia^[148] andDoctors for Voluntary Euthanasia Choice.^[149]

Australian institutions and organisations that oppose the legalisation of euthanasia include theAustralian Medical Association,^[150] HOPE,^[151] Right to Life Australia^[152] and the Australian Catholic Church.^[153] A contemporary Catholic viewpoint is available in a 2020 moral compass style document, expanding on the theme of theparable of the Good Samaritan.^[154]

Decriminalisation of euthanasia in Australia is supported by multiple political parties such as theAustralian Greens,^[155] theFusion Party,^[156] theLibertarian Party,^[157] andReason Australia. Though it is usually aconscience vote for the major parties such as theAustralian Labor Party and theLiberal/National Coalition.

• Health care in Australia
• Philip Nitschke
• Fiona Stewart (author)
• Oregon Death With Dignity Act
• Right to die
• California End of Life Option Act
• Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Victoria)
• Voluntary Euthanasia Party
• Euthanasia in New Zealand
• Voluntary assisted dying in Western Australia

• Bartels L, Otlowski M (February 2010). "A right to die? Euthanasia and the law in Australia".J Law Med.17 (4):532–55.PMID 20329456.
• Victoria's hub for health services and business - Voluntary Assisted Dying BillArchived 20 September 2017 at theWayback Machine

• Euthanasia in Australia

• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2023
• Use Australian English from March 2023
• All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English