Western Australian MPs will debate a voluntary assisted dying (VAD) bill later this month which will enable nurse practitioners to give the medication, does not require doctors to have a VAD permit, and allows health practitioners to raise VAD with the patient. These are all key differences from Victoria’s VAD legislation, enacted in June, say Professor Ben White and Professor Lindy Willmott, from QUT’s Australian Health Law Research Centre, whose almost 20 years of research in the field has informed Australian end-of-life law reform. “While the criteria remain very similar for VAD eligibility, the administration of the VAD medication and the setting in which it can be discussed differs in the WA bill,” Professor White said. “The eligibility criteria requires that the person requests VAD three times, is capable of making their own decisions and has lived in the state for at least a year. “In Victoria health practitioners […]