Table 1 Key features of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Victoria) [27]

To access VAD, a patient must meet all of the eligibility criteria.

• be an adult Australian citizen or permanent resident and reside in Victoria,

• have decision-making capacity in relation to voluntary assisted dying,

• have a medical condition that is incurable, advanced, and progressive,

• have a prognosis of no longer than 6 months (or 12 months in the case of neurodegenerative disease), and

• be experiencing suffering caused by the relevant condition, that cannot be relieved in a manner that the patient deems tolerable.

The patient needs to make at least three formal requests for VAD.

A minimum of two verbal requests and one written request

For eligible patients, the medical practitioner will write a prescription for a lethal medication that the patient can ingest at a time of their choosing.

Only for patients who are unable to self-administer, the VAD medication can be administered by the physician.

The patient must be assessed by two medical practitioners.

• The medical practitioners must be either a vocationally registered general practitioner (GP) or a specialist, and have completed the approved VAD assessment training.

• At least one must have held their specialist fellowship or be a vocationally registered GP for a minimum of 5 years.

• At least one must have expertise in the relevant condition.

Health practitioners can conscientiously object to participating in any or all of the processes involved in providing voluntary assisted dying.

Health practitioners must not initiate discussion about VAD with a patient, and must report colleagues whom they reasonably believe have initiated such discussions.