In the fifth episode of the ACHLR Coffee with a Colleague online seminar series, Associate Professor Shih-Ning Then discusses end of life organ donation decisions with Associate Professor Dominique Martin from Deakin University. This episode (Collaborating across disciplines: ‘Transitions in decision-making authority at the end of life’, challenges…
The Queensland Law Reform Commission’s Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill is the first in Australia to address objections by institutions, and has been welcomed by Professors Ben White and Lindy Willmott from QUT’s Australian Centre for Health Law Research. Ben and Lindy (pictured above) authored the original VAD Bill…
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of valid will making. Executing a valid will can be difficult during a pandemic in the event of the public health response, incorporating social distancing and lockdowns. Compliance with traditional presence requirements for signing and witnessing wills has, in some jurisdictions,…
Two PhD scholarships are available for this Australian Research Council Future Fellowship research project led by Professor Ben White. It is intended that the PhD candidates would work primarily on the comparative case studies of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) regulation in Canada and Belgium (where VAD has been…
Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) became legal in the Australian state of Victoria on 19 June 2019 and will be legal in Western Australia from 2021. Other Australian states are progressing similar law reform processes. In Australia and internationally, doctors are central to the operation of all legal VAD…
The Australian Centre for Health Law Research (ACHLR) has launched a new online seminar series called Coffee with a Colleague. In this series, ACHLR researchers will discuss their research and projects with key collaborators and colleagues. In the first episode (introduced by Associate Professor Tina Cockburn), Dr Eliana…
Why making voluntary assisted dying legal best respects both sides of this debate After almost three decades of refusing to agree to it, it looks as though Australian parliaments are slowly beginning to warm to the idea of voluntary assisted dying (VAD). Legislation has already been passed in…
A Queensland Parliamentary Committee recently handed down its Report on Voluntary Assisted Dying. Recommendation One of that report was that the Queensland Government should introduce legislation to legalise voluntary assisted dying based on draft legislation submitted to the Committee by Professors Lindy Willmott and Ben White. The Chair…
Approximately 30% of adults in Australia die after a decision to stop or not start potentially life-sustaining treatments, including mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition and hydration, and CPR. While these decisions are a common part of mainstream medical practice, they raise practical, legal and ethical challenges. A central justification…
The Queensland Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee will shortly deliver its report about voluntary assisted dying. The key question is whether or not the law should be changed to permit voluntary assisted dying. If the Committee recommends reform, its report will be…
