Most Australians with dementia excluded from voluntary assisted dying, study finds

New research from the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) has found that most Australians living with dementia are unlikely to qualify for voluntary assisted dying (VAD) under current laws. Lead author Prof. Kerstin Braun explored how Australian VAD laws would need to change if states and territories chose to extend access to people living with dementia.

About 400,000 Australians are currently living with dementia, yet existing VAD laws generally require a person to retain decision-making capacity throughout key stages of the process.

Prof. Braun also analyzed emerging reform discussions, including the Australian Capital Territory government’s consideration of arrangements for people who lose decision-making capacity after the final assessment stage of the VAD process. By examining different legislative models in the Netherlands and Canada, the study outlines safeguards that could inform future changes to Australian VAD laws.

Prof. Braun said the research was not an argument for or against expanding access to VAD, but rather an examination of the legislative changes required if governments chose to pursue reform.

“As the number of Australians living with dementia continues to grow, questions about autonomy and end-of-life decision-making are likely to become increasingly prominent,” she said. “It is not unrealistic to expect that Australian jurisdictions will eventually consider whether voluntary assisted dying laws should be expanded to accommodate people who lose decision-making capacity, including those living with dementia.”

In addition to decision-making capacity requirements, the study found that eligibility criteria related to intolerable suffering, the expected timeframe until death, and advanced terminal illness would also need to be reconsidered if access were extended to people living with dementia.

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Lisa Lock

BA art history, MA material culture. Former museum editor, paramedic, and transplant coordinator. Editing for Science X since 2021.

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Andrew Zinin

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