Voluntary assisted dying

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 allows medical practitioners to prescribe medication to cause a person’s death, if the person:

meets strict eligibility criteria, and
has completed the request and assessment process

Grampians Health complies with this Act.

Proposed legislative changes
Content last updated 27 October 2025

Some proposed changes to VAD laws have been tabled to the Victorian government, expected to be debated within the next few weeks.

Proposed changes include healthcare professionals being able to inform a patient about VAD within an end-of-life conversation; a change in eligible prognosis from 6 to 12 months and some increased patient choice over mode of administration (eg self or practitioner administered). If passed, changes are expected to come in to effect in 2027.

In the meantime, current laws remain.

To find out more, please contact our VAD navigator service, and access the resources below.

Resources

Detailed information regarding voluntary assisted dying can be found on the Department of Health website.

This site provides detailed information about a range of end-of-life care services. These include advance care planning, palliative care and voluntary assisted dying. 