The Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2022 (the Act) establishes the NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Board (the Board) as an independent oversight and decision-making body with responsibility for performing the functions and exercising the powers conferred upon it by the Act.
Key functions of the Board include:
The Act specifies that the Board consists of five members jointly appointed by the Minister for Health and the Attorney General by Gazette notice.
The Board is required to prepare and give to the Minister for Health a report on the operation of the Act within 6 months of the end of each financial year.
2023-24 Interim Report - The Board's interim report reflects on the first three months of operations of the Act, from 28 November 2023 to 29 February 2024.
2023-24 Annual Report - This is the first annual report of the Board. This report includes activity from commencement of the Act on 28 November 2023 to 30 June 2024.
Professor Jenni Millbank (Chairperson) is a Distinguished Professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology Sydney. Professor Millbank is also a legal practitioner and an experienced tribunal decision-maker.
Mr Patrick Knowles SC is a Barrister at Tenth Floor Chambers. He was admitted as a legal practitioner in 2004, became a Barrister in 2009 and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2022. He specialises in administrative law.
Dr Darrell Duncan is a specialist medical administrator in the Australian Public Service with the Department of Defence. He has served for over 40 years in the Army (full time and reserve) and holds the rank of Brigadier. He is also a vocationally registered General Practitioner. He holds post graduate qualifications in health informatics, medical administration, public health and clinical epidemiology.
Dr Tamsin Waterhouse is a Barrister in Maurice Byers Chambers specialised in health law. She trained first as a clinical doctor, working as a general practitioner and later in health management. Dr Waterhouse held senior medical leadership positions in hospitals and Local Health Districts from 2013 until being called to the bar in 2021.
Dr Rohan Krishnan is a general dentist who also works in a multi-disciplinary clinic looking after patients with chronic pain. He also has long-standing involvement in the provision of pro-bono care for patients with disability, asylum seekers and refugees.
Under the Act, a person may apply to the Board for an exemption from the requirement to have been ordinarily resident in NSW for at least 12 months.
Residency exemptions are considered by the Board on a case-by-case basis.
The Board must grant the exemption if they are satisfied you:
There are no exemption provisions for the other eligibility criteria.
Examples of a substantial connection to NSW include:
Compassionate grounds will be considered by the Board on a case-by-case basis.
Compassionate grounds are reasons for letting someone do something out of concern for their situation.
Follow the steps below to apply for a residency exemption.
You can ask a support person or your doctor to complete or submit the application on your behalf.
If you are granted a residency exemption, you may choose to seek access to voluntary assisted dying. You need to meet all other requirements under the law. If you would like to be connected to a doctor to access voluntary assisted dying you should speak to your usual treating team. You can also contact the NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Care Navigator Service.
Every step of the NSW voluntary assisted dying process must occur in NSW. You and your doctor both need to be physically in NSW for each step. This also applies if you are in a border region outside NSW and you receive a residency exemption.
If you are not granted a residency exemption, you will not be eligible to access to voluntary assisted dying in NSW until you:
Residency exemptions will be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. If the Board declines your application, unfortunately you cannot appeal this decision. The Board would only reconsider a request if there is new information or significant change to the application.
In all cases you should talk to your doctor about other care and support available to you, including palliative care.
Ask your doctor or contact the NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Care Navigator Service if you have any questions about the application process.