Quality Practice Series #17 (July 2026) |
Message from the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board Chair |
On 30 June 2026 Dr Scott Blackwell retired after 5 years as Chair of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board and many more years working to ensure Western Australians have access to high quality and safe end of life choices. Thank you, Scott, for your outstanding contribution to voluntary assisted dying in Western Australia. I am honoured to take on the role of Chair of the Board from 1 July 2026. Following Dr Blackwell’s retirement, a new Board member will be appointed. We will update you when this appointment has been finalised. The Board recently conducted its annual Performance Review and invited many of you to give feedback on the Board’s performance against it functions under the Act. This feedback was highly valuable in guiding the Board’s approach to fulfilling these functions and for future recommendations for improvements to voluntary assisted dying. Further information about the feedback received can be found below. The Board is currently preparing the 2025-2026 Annual Report, collating data from the Financial Year and considering further recommendations for improvements to the operations of voluntary assisted dying. We look forward to presenting this to the Minister for Health for tabling in Parliament later in the year. Hon Colin Holt
Chair - Voluntary Assisted Dying Board |
The Board’s Stakeholder Survey was conducted as part of the Board’s annual Performance Review. VAD practitioners and individuals who have engaged with the Board via attendance at a Board Meeting or dedicated engagement activity, including regional engagement, were invited to complete the survey. More than half of all respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they understood the Board’s functions, were satisfied with the performance of the Board and agreed that the Board makes a positive contribution to the operation of voluntary assisted dying in Western Australia. |
Other feedback about VAD was raised with the Board with the most common theme being workforce sustainability and support. Feedback was also received in relation to amendments to the Act, the model of service implemented to support voluntary assisted dying, issues related to access to voluntary assisted dying and reform of the Commonwealth Criminal Code. Whilst the Board does not have the power to amend the legislation, we do have a function under the Act to provide advice and reports to the Minister for Health and the WA Health Director General including making recommendations for quality improvement. The feedback received through the Stakeholder survey, along with the Board’s other engagement activities, supports this function and the improvement of our own practice. Please feel free to provide any further feedback and reflections on your experience with voluntary assisted dying practice to the Board at any time. |
Information Requests to the Board |
The Board collects data through VAD-IMS and, under the Act, can release this data on request, for the purposes of education or research. The Board welcomes these requests for information sharing and has a process for assessing and releasing information. Information requests can be submitted to the Board using the Information Request Form (education requests) and Project Proposal Form (research requests). The Board’s Information Governance policies and forms have recently been reviewed to ensure compliance with the Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024 (WA) which came into effect on 1 July 2026. The Secretariat Unit can assist with these requests and offer advice on approvable information requests, as required. |
Updated Personal Reflection Form |
The Board was pleased to see a significant increase in the number of Personal Reflections submitted with 62 reflections received in 2025-2026, an increase from 36 received in 2024-2025. We are keen to hear from practitioners about your experiences and encourage you to provide your feedback to the Board. The Personal Reflection form has recently been reviewed and updated and can be downloaded here for your use and distribution. Feedback can be submitted to the Board via VADBoard@health.wa.gov.au. |
Updates to VAD-IMS are currently being finalised and will be rolled out to users in the next few months. These updates include improvements to the practitioner registration process, an updated Administering Practitioner Disposal Form to better reflect current practice, and a new process for transferring multiple episode roles. Further details and full instructions will be provided when the enhancements have passed final testing. |
Opening PDFs downloaded from VAD-IMS |
Some practitioners have raised issues with the Secretariat Unit in accessing pre-filled PDFs downloaded from VAD-IMS. Some PDF forms may appear blank when opened due to incorrect default applications or incompatibility with certain PDF viewers. The attached guide provides clear steps to ensure PDF forms display correctly using Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader. Should you require further guidance, an extended version is available in the VAD-IMS Resource Hub. |
Archives of previous editions |
Previous editions of the Quality Practice Series can be downloaded from the Resource Hub in VAD-IMS. |
|
|
|
|
This document can be made available in alternative formats on request for a person with disability.
© Department of Health 2026
Copyright to this material is vested in the State of Western Australia unless otherwise indicated. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced or re-used for any purposes whatsoever without written permission of the State of Western Australia |
|
|
|
|
|
