The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has released a joint statement with other national peak health organisations calling on the government to urgently amend the Commonwealth Criminal Code to allow electronic communications, including telehealth, to be made available for voluntary assisted dying.
Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) is now legal across most parts of Australia for terminally ill people. Despite the advancements, health professionals remain banned from discussing VAD via telehealth, leading to disruptions and delays in care, and putting those who are unable to travel for face-to-face consultations at a disadvantage.
The significant barrier is the result of a 2005 amendment to the Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995, which made it an offence to use a ‘carriage service’ to publish or distribute material that counsels or incites a person to suicide. It has meant that health professionals cannot use any electronic communications – including telehealth, phone, email, text – to discuss the VAD process. If they do, they risk criminal charges and a $300,000 fine.
Advocacy organisation Go Gentle Australia, along with peak national health organisations, have released a joint statement calling on federal politicians to take action to ensure telehealth becomes available for terminally ill Australians accessing VAD.
“Electronic communication is essential for high-quality and safe healthcare. However, the Criminal Code’s restriction on how health professionals communicate about voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is causing disruptions and delays in care provision and limiting health professionals’ ability to do their jobs,” the statement argues.
“It should be for health professionals and their patients to decide if electronic communications are an appropriate alternative to in-person care, not politicians.”
Read the full statement here
4 Responses
Please allow electronic communications including telehealth to be made available for VAD.
I am vice president of Dying with Dignity Queensland and a retired palliative care nurse and absolutely believe that telehealth should be available to everyone. This law was introduced by the Commonwealth Government to stop suicide being discussed via telehealth. Our Queensland Legislation clearly state that Voluntary Assisted Dying is not suicide. In Part 1 Division 4 it states “VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING IS NOT SUICIDE. For the purposes of the law of the State, and for the purpose of contract deed or other instrument entered into in the State or governed by the state, a person who dies as the result of the self-administration of a voluntary assisted dying substance in accordance with the Act – (a) does not die by suicide and (b) is taken to have died from the disease illness or medical conditionmentioned in section 10(1)(a) from which the person suffered
I agree.
It certainly needs to be amended so all people can access proper health care. In Queensland it is not classified as suicide, the reason you were granted the use of end of life substance is what is written on the death certificate