Following the tabling of the聽聽in Victoria鈥檚 Parliament in February, and with , Dying With Dignity Victoria (DWDV) is calling on the federal government to address four key equity of access problems.
At its 2025 Federal Election platform launch on March 3, DWDV said too many people are not having their needs met.
DWDV spokesperson Dr Nick Carr said that while it is 鈥渇antastic that most Australians can access VAD鈥, with the exception of the Northern Territory, the report highlighted where the system needs federal support, particularly for regional and remote areas.聽
鈥淭oo many Australians are unable to access [VAD] and are finding their application experience distressing and slow,鈥 Carr said.
DWDV lists four federal actions which would alleviate the most significant barriers.
Amending the聽聽麻豆传媒 474.29A and 474.29B, which currently prevent people who are too ill or too remote to travel, from having Telehealth consultations.
WA Independent MP Kate Chaney put up a聽聽in 2023聽to fix this, but the government failed to act despite more than 70% of people nationwide supporting VAD as a compassionate human right.
DWDV said end-of-life services rely on a dedicated but overstretched workforce, with聽.听听
As with聽many other services, Medicare rebates are not keeping up with costs and greater workforce training investment is needed.聽
础听聽found less than 10% of the 70% who say they want to die at home are able to do so.
础听聽in May 2020 said there would be a significant cost savings to the hospital system and Emergency Department when people are supported to die at home.
Dying With Dignity agrees that more investment is needed in home-based palliative care, expanding regional and rural services and enacting聽
A recent study by聽Queensland University of Technology found聽only 33% knew VAD was a legal end-of-life option for the terminally ill.
Publicly funded education campaigns are essential, so that all Australians are aware of their end-of-life options, with access to a reliable source of verified information when making medical decisions.
Monitoring accessibility will ensure governments have accurate information to guide improvement programs.
With an election on the horizon, DWDV President Jane Morris implored Labor to remove these four Commonwealth-based impediments to not only ensure eligible applicants had equity of access to VAD, but also 鈥渢o look after those who look after us鈥 and address Medicare reform and health workforce challenges.