Law Research News

ARC grant success

The project, Assessing the operation of voluntary assisted dying laws in Australia, has been awarded $392,910 from the ARC Linkage Projects grant round.

Lead chief investigators Professors Ben White and Lindy Willmott from QUT’s Australian Centre for Health Law Research said the project would conduct the first national assessment of how Australia’s new voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws operated in practice.

“The significance of these new laws means they must be carefully monitored but there has been only limited research about them,” Professor White said.

“This project collaborates with VAD Review Boards (independent bodies overseeing operation of VAD) and health departments in five states to assess how VAD systems are operating using non-public data from the five state boards to provide a national assessment of VAD systems,” Professor Willmott said.

We congratulate the project team, and we look forward to the outcomes of this important research.

About the project

Assessing the operation of voluntary assisted dying laws in Australia will undertake the first national assessment of how Australia’s new voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws are operating in practice. Working with VAD Boards and health departments in 5 states, this research will use, for the first time, non-public Board data to better understand the VAD experience at state and national levels. Interviews with key stakeholders will address knowledge gaps including community awareness of VAD, access barriers, and health professional experiences.

Based on research findings, the project will recommend changes to law, policy and practice which, if implemented, will improve VAD quality and safety for the benefit of patients, families, health professionals and the community.

Chief investigators include Professor Willmott, Professor White and Dr Rachel Feeney (pictured, above).

Partner Organisations

  • Queensland Health; Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board;
  • Western Australian Voluntary Assisted Dying Board; Department of Health of Western Australia;
  • Victorian Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board;
  • Voluntary Assisted Dying Commission Tasmania; and
  • South Australia Department for Health and Wellbeing.

Article copy originally published in QUT news.

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