Voluntary Assisted Dying — GP Guide: Role, Obligations & Process
📋 Sources (verified June 2026):
QUT End of Life Law — end-of-life.qut.edu.au.
QUT ORVAD Care Navigator Contacts.
Healthdirect Australia — healthdirect.gov.au.
QLD Health printable resources — health.qld.gov.au ↗.
QLD Health Practitioner Authorisation Guideline, June 2025.
State VAD Acts: VIC 2017 (as amended 2025); NSW 2022; QLD 2021; SA 2021; WA 2019; TAS 2021; ACT 2024.
MBS Book July 2026 — consultation item fees.
Federal Court telehealth ruling, November 2023; AMA March 2025.
Laws change. Verify with your state health department before participating in VAD. Consult your MDO for specific legal questions.
First request checklist, your role, obligations, conscientious objection, MBS billing, and how to refer patients to support.
CliniciansAUState VAD Acts · QUT End of Life Law · QLD Health 2025
🚨 New patient request
My patient has just requested VAD — what do I do now?
Select your state, then tap each step as you complete it. This covers minimum legal obligations and recommended process — it is a navigation guide, not legal advice. Consult your MDO for specific legal questions.
Your state
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✅ Immediate obligations met. You have documented the request, informed the patient, and provided the Care Navigator contact. Your legal obligations under the VAD Act are satisfied regardless of whether you participate further. The Care Navigator will guide the patient from here.
To become the coordinating practitioner (QLD): Complete ~6 hours mandatory training then apply to Queensland Health for CMO authorisation — email VAD@health.qld.gov.au. Authorisation runs 3 years. In the meantime, the Care Navigator can manage your patient’s access while pending.
📋 Based on: QUT End of Life Law — end-of-life.qut.edu.au. State VAD Acts. QLD Health printable resources — health.qld.gov.au ↗. Consult your MDO for specific legal advice.
⚠️ Laws vary by state and change over time. Sourced from official state VAD Acts and QLD Health guidance (June 2025). Always verify current obligations for your state. Consult your MDO for specific legal questions.
Your possible roles in VAD
GPs can take different roles in VAD — or none at all. QUT End of Life Law
1. Coordinating practitioner
Manages the patient’s VAD process end-to-end. Conducts the first eligibility assessment, coordinates the second assessment, prescribes or administers the substance. In QLD: requires ~6 hours training plus formal CMO authorisation (3-year term). Other states: training alone typically sufficient.
2. Consulting practitioner
The second, independent assessor. Must be independent of the coordinating practitioner. Cannot be a family member or have a financial interest in the patient’s estate. Also requires training.
3. Informed but not participating
You remain the patient’s GP for all other care and support them emotionally without involvement in VAD assessments. Completely legitimate.
4. Conscientious objection
You may decline to participate. Legal right in all states. You still have minimum obligations when a patient raises VAD — see below.
Eligibility in brief: Age 18+, resident 12+ months, decision-making capacity, advanced incurable condition, intolerable suffering. Prognosis: 6 months (VIC/NSW/SA/WA/TAS), 12 months (QLD — all conditions; others — neurodegenerative only), no timeframe (ACT). VIC moves to 12 months April 2027. Full patient guide with state selector →
Conscientious objection — your obligations by state
You can object in all states. But objecting does not end your obligations to the patient. QUT End of Life Law · State VAD Acts
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You may decline to participate. Includes declining to provide information, assess, prescribe, or administer. Protected by law in all states.
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You must tell the patient. If a patient raises VAD and you will not assist, inform them as soon as practicable.
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You must refer or direct to support. Provide the Care Navigator contact details in writing in most states. You cannot simply decline and say nothing.
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You cannot obstruct. Cannot hinder access to information or prevent another practitioner from providing it. Obstruction can constitute unprofessional conduct.
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Document your objection. Record that you declined, the reason, and that you provided referral information. Date and time stamp.
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VIC — gag clause (until April 2027): You cannot initiate a VAD discussion. The patient must raise it first. You may then respond fully. VAD Act 2017 (Vic)
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Changing April 2027: Victorian amendments remove the gag clause. From April 2027 you may initiate VAD discussions with eligible patients. VAD Amendment Act 2025 (Vic)
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Conscientious objection (VIC): Provide Care Navigator contact within 2 business days: (03) 8559 5823 / vadcarenavigator@petermac.org.
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NSW — no gag clause. You may raise VAD with a patient if clinically appropriate. VAD Act 2022 (NSW)
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Conscientious objection (NSW): Inform the patient and provide Care Navigator: 1300 802 133. Provide referral to another likely-to-assist practitioner.
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NSW VAD Board: Reviews all requests before dispensing. Allow time for this in the patient’s timeline. NSW Health
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QLD — no gag clause. You may raise VAD with a patient if clinically appropriate. VAD Act 2021 (QLD)
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QLD prognosis: 12 months for all conditions — not just neurodegenerative. Broader than most states. VAD Act 2021 (QLD)
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Statutory first request obligation (QLD): When you accept a first request, you must give the patient the Queensland Health “Approved first request information” PDF. Download from QLD Health printable resources ↗. VAD Act 2021 (QLD)
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Conscientious objection (QLD): Inform the patient and provide QVAD Support in writing within 2 business days: 1800 431 371 / qvadsupport@health.qld.gov.au.
⚠️ The telehealth restriction
All VAD consultations must be in person. A November 2023 Federal Court ruling found that VAD telehealth consultations are illegal under the Commonwealth Criminal Code. Practitioners risk fines up to $220,000. Federal Court, Nov 2023 · AMA, March 2025
This creates real barriers for rural and remote patients. The VAD Care Navigator in your state can help arrange visiting practitioners. No phone or video for any VAD discussion — all assessments must be face-to-face.
Training & authorisation required
To act as a coordinating or consulting practitioner you must complete your state’s approved VAD training. QLD additionally requires formal CMO authorisation (3-year term, renewable with ~60 min renewal training). Other states: training typically sufficient. QLD Health Practitioner Authorisation Guideline, June 2025 · State health departments
SA, WA, TAS, ACT: Contact your state’s VAD Care Navigator or health department — see contacts table below.
MBS billing
There is currently no specific MBS item for VAD assessments. Bill via standard consultation items: MBS Book July 2026
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Item 23 ($45.05) — standard consultation <20 min
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Item 36 ($87.10) — long consultation 20–40 min
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Item 44 ($128.35) — prolonged consultation >40 min
Most practitioners bulk bill VAD assessments given the patient’s circumstances. The VAD substance is provided free through state health departments. QUT End of Life Law
Documentation
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Record all requests — date, time, patient’s own words where possible, capacity and voluntariness assessment at each interaction.
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QLD: record that you gave the approved first request information PDF — this is a statutory obligation. VAD Act 2021 (QLD)
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If you conscientiously object — record that you declined, the reason, and that you provided Care Navigator contact details. Date and time stamp.
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Reportable forms — each state has mandatory forms submitted to the relevant review board by the coordinating practitioner. QLD uses the QVAD Review Board IMS. Check your state’s health department for current forms.
Care navigator contacts — for you and your patients
Navigators support GPs as well as patients. QUT ORVAD, 2025