In this edition:

After 8 years of commitment to Voluntary Assisted Dying in Western Australia, the last 5 as Chairman of the VAD Board, it is time for me to say goodbye. I will leave the Board at the end of June.

I remember the time nearly 6 years ago now when, as Chair of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Implementation Leadership Team, we reached a point where we had created the framework for implementation and we wondered who would stand up and take on the roles needed to go live with VAD on 1 July 2021.

I will be eternally grateful to you, Care Navigators, VAD coordinators, Pharmacists, Doctors, Nurse Practitioners and many others who have taken on the roles needed to make VAD a success in WA. It has been your caring, compassionate, person-centred natures, that has shone through the many personal reflections the Board receives.

My commitment from the outset has been to “A person, a Western Australian person who we know will die soon, and who is suffering in a manner unacceptable to themselves, and has asked for Voluntary Assisted Dying to alleviate that suffering.”

Thank you for being the people who have enabled that commitment to be realised.

Voluntary Assisted Dying has provided us, as a Board, with many interesting and sometimes difficult challenges, in this QPS we highlight the most recent issues.

Dr Scott Blackwell
Chair - Voluntary Assisted Dying Board

As part of the Board review of episodes, the Board notes that some patients are progressing through the VAD process without the use of an interpreter at all stages of the process. It is important that a patient who intends to access voluntary assisted dying can understand what is happening at each stage of the process and can communicate their needs and decisions. The patient may require an interpreter service if they are unable to communicate in spoken or written English. In this situation the Coordinating Practitioner should arrange for an interpreter to be engaged for the request and assessment, and administration processes.

Often in medical and health settings another person, such as a carer, family member or friend, will offer to assist with interpreting or translation for a patient receiving care. This type of assistance for someone seeking voluntary assisted dying is not permitted under the Act. Only an interpreter who meets all requirements can be engaged to facilitate communication with the patient in relation to voluntary assisted dying.

The Board monitors the use of interpreters across submitted forms to confirm that patients are receiving the required support to understand and consent to each stage of the process.

Translations of the Approved Information Booklet have been produced by the Department of Health and can be accessed from the Department's website. 

Voluntary Assisted Dying activity in 2024-2025 indicated that 26.3% of Final Requests were made within the 9-day designated period, as reported in the Annual Report. 37.6% of these requests were expedited as the Coordinating and Consulting Practitioners were of the opinion that the patient was likely to die before the end of the period, and in 62.4% of cases the practitioners believed the patient would lose decision-making capacity. 

The Board will be planning a workshop with the Community of Practice mid-year to discuss Final Requests in the Designated Period and how this step in the Voluntary Assisted Dying process is operating. We are interested in your feedback and observations on the circumstances leading to a patient seeking to progress through the expedited process and recommendations that could be made to address the issues arising. 

Further information about the workshop will be communicated closer to the date.

The Board has observed a pattern whereby Consulting Practitioners are completing the Consultation Referral form following the Consulting Assessment, rather than following their decision to accept/refuse the consultation referral.

Go Gentle Australia recently launched their 2026 State of VAD Report at Parliament House, Canberra. 

Dr Scott Blackwell attended the launch along with Board Chairs from other Australian jurisdictions, representatives of Go Gentle Australia and other key stakeholders. The Trans-Tasman Board Chairs meet regularly to advocate for improvements to voluntary assisted dying at a Federal level, including changes to the Commonwealth Criminal Code and Medicare.

The report can be downloaded from the Go Gentle website.

With voluntary assisted dying (VAD) now available in all Australian states and the ACT, the State of VAD report draws on data from all seven jurisdictions and the people most closely involved to show how this end-of-life choice is working in practice. It looks at who is accessing it, how services are delivered, where individuals fall out of the process, and whether safeguards and access are in balance.

Dr Linda Swan, Go Gentle’s CEO, says: “Any legislative framework for VAD and the services themselves must balance safeguards with the need for an accessible choice for dying people. This report is a valuable resource for those seeking to understand how VAD is fulfilling its aims in Australia and what can be improved.” 

The Board welcomes further submissions of personal reflections from practitioners to share your experience. The Personal Reflection form can be found here and can be emailed to the VAD Board Secretariat Unit (VADBoard@health.wa.gov.au).

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

Department of Health Voluntary Assisted Dying Online Resources