Submission to the Northern Territory Government Consultation about Voluntary Assisted Dying

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) welcomed the opportunity to respond to the Northern Territory (NT) Government consultation on voluntary assisted dying legislation.

The APS neither supports nor opposes voluntary assisted dying (VAD). Consistent with our position in previous submissions to voluntary assisted dying consultations in other jurisdictions, the APS advocates for:

• Equity of access and choice for all Australians to a range of the highest quality end-of-life care options, including, but not limited to legal VAD,
• Legal foundations that protect and enable, rather than hinder, person-centred VAD-related decision-making and access, 
• Systems and processes that enable a multidisciplinary approach to end-of-life care, and enable health professionals, including psychologists, to work their full scope of practice in the provision of end-of-life care, and
• Efforts towards cross-jurisdictional consistency for VAD legislation to bring clarity for the community and health professionals.

APS feedback to the NT VAD consultation focused on matters associated with:

• Decision-making capacity and ensuring voluntary, non-coerced decision-making about VAD,
• The processes for request and assessment to access VAD,
• The role of psychologists, including processes around conscientious objection to VAD, and
• Health equity considerations and Indigenous and CALD perspectives about VAD.

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