Australia’s voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws are working as intended – easing suffering and giving terminally ill people choice and control over the timing and circumstances of their death – but persistent barriers continue to limit access, a new national report has found.
Go Gentle Australia’s 2026 State of VAD report examines how VAD is working across the country – who accesses it, how services are delivered, where individuals are falling through the cracks, and whether safeguards are working. The snapshot, compiled using publicly available data from each state’s VAD oversight body, reveals a growing number of Australians are choosing VAD.
“Voluntary assisted dying is a public policy success story,” said Go Gentle Australia’s CEO, Dr Linda Swan.
“The evidence paints a reassuring picture where Australia’s laws work as intended, services deliver compassionate care, and dying people can choose the comfort they want at the end of life.”
Who is accessing VAD in Australia?
Since VAD laws were first introduced in Australia in 2019, 14,000 people have applied for VAD and there have been more than 7,000 deaths using a VAD substance.
Under the Australian model, which varies slightly from state-to-state, only adults with a terminal illness who are approaching the end of their life and suffering can apply to access VAD. Requirements include being assessed as eligible by two independent doctors, making at least three separate requests for VAD, including a written request, and having decision-making capacity throughout the process.
According to the report, there were 6,627 VAD applicants in 2024-25, and 3,329 deaths recorded, up 48% from the previous year. A typical VAD applicant is aged in their 70s, has terminal cancer and is receiving palliative care. Nationally, the youngest applicant was aged 18 and the oldest 104. VAD now accounts for around 2% of all deaths nationally, including around 5% of cancer deaths and one in three motor neurone disease (MND) deaths.
Continued barriers to access
The State of VAD report highlights several ongoing barriers to access for eligible people. These include process complexity, difficulties finding trained practitioners, especially outside major cities, limits on open conversations, and roadblocks caused by the non-participation of healthcare institutions and individuals.
Positively, the Victorian Parliament recently amended its VAD legislation to allow doctors to initiate conversations about VAD with their patients from April 2027, bringing Victoria in line with most other states.
But the restricted use of telehealth to discuss VAD access remains one of the biggest ongoing barriers, the report found. An “outdated” provision in the Criminal Code Act 1995 is negatively impacting VAD care nationwide by criminalising the use of telecommunications for much of the VAD process.
Federal law requires all VAD consultations to be completed in-person. Nurses, care navigators and pharmacists must limit the follow-up support they offer as phone calls or emails to patients and families can be in breach of the law, while scripts for VAD medications must be posted, couriered, or hand-delivered.
The report calls for reform of Australia’s Commonwealth Criminal Code so that eligible patients are no longer disadvantaged.
“It is unreasonable and cruel to require dying people, especially those living in regional areas, to travel long distances for in-person appointments at every step of the process, particularly when safe and effective alternatives exist,” Go Gentle Australia founding director, Andrew Denton, said.
“It is a simple one-line fix to amend the Commonwealth Criminal Code to allow the use of electronic communications in VAD provision. It is an equity issue, but there appears to be resistance at very senior levels of the federal government, based on outdated views.”
Other barriers highlighted in the report include obstruction of VAD choice by individuals or institutions whose beliefs do not align with VAD, the lengthy and complex process, and ongoing stigma and lack of public awareness. Across Australia, up to 40% of people who start the VAD process do not complete it, with a significant proportion dying within weeks of their first request.
Who is providing VAD care?
The report shows VAD service delivery relies on a small and highly specialised clinical workforce.
Although VAD involves multidisciplinary teams, access is contingent on doctors’ willingness to provide VAD eligibility assessments, as required in all states. In 2024–25, there were 1,614 trained practitioners in Australia; 1,248 doctors and 341 nurses.
In Australia, only doctors are permitted to perform VAD eligibility assessments (the exception is the ACT, where an experienced nurse practitioner may perform one eligibility assessment, provided a doctor performs the other).
The report notes that evidence and experience show that many aspects of VAD fall within the nursing scope of practice and four states (WA, TAS, QLD and NSW) permit a nurse practitioner to administer a VAD substance. In Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT this role extends to registered nurses (with five years post qualification).
The data shows that, where they are allowed a role, experienced nurses make a significant contribution to the VAD workforce, making up more than half of Queensland’s authorised practitioners and just under half in Tasmania. Victoria’s VAD amendments, to take effect by April 2027, will also allow qualified nurses to administer VAD medications. This will leave South Australia as the only jurisdiction to exclude nurses.
Read the full 2026 State of VAD Report here
