Dying with Dignity Queensland

14/06/2026

Dying with Dignity Queensland
The Queensland VAD (Voluntary Assisted Dying) is to be reviewed THIS YEAR.
We need to be able to contact you to let you know how you can help the campaign to improve our current VAD law.
PLEASE go to the DWDQ website https://www.dwdq.org.au/ and become a DWDQ member or supporter.
Please also consider making a tax deductible donation to DWDQ to support this campaign. We may not have another opportunity to push for changes to the VAD law for years.

Voluntary Assisted Dying is an end-of-life option available for Queensland residents who are terminally ill, suffering intolerably and meet other strict criteria.

24/05/2026

If someone you love used VAD, we would like to publish their story on our DWDQ website.
Please email Jos at [email protected] to discuss

17/05/2026

IF YOU ARE EVEN CONSIDERING APPLYING FOR VAD - advice from Victorian VAD Doctor Nick Carr - don’t wait until you are really unwell. The process takes time.

07/05/2026

PLEASE SIGN HEM’S PETITION. DEVELOP AN ADVANCE HEALTH DIRECTIVE FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA.
Content warning: This petition contains a photograph of Hem in the final stage of dying from Alzheimer's Disease. It is extremely confronting.

It is included because death from dementia has been invisible for too long and because the people experiencing it deserve for this to no longer be hidden.

Please continue only if you are comfortable doing so. If you have dementia yourself, or if you have lost someone to dementia, consider whether you want to go further.

https://www.change.org/p/hem-s-law-mercy-when-death-has-begun

03/05/2026

JAMES VALENTINE’S STORY WILL BE SHOWN ON THE ABC's AUSTRALIAN STORY ON MONDAY NIGHT - 4 MAY 2026

James was a beloved Australian broadcaster and musician. He used VAD to end his suffering.

24/04/2026

SHOULD TELEHEALTH BE ALLOWED TO BE USED FOR VAD CONSULTS?
For the entire article click on link: https://www1.racgp.org.au/.../should-telehealth-be...

VAD (voluntary assisted dying) activity increased by 40% nationwide in 2024–25, and VAD now accounts for around 2% of all deaths nationally.

Telehealth can improve access to VAD, particularly in remote areas, reducing travel burdens for terminally ill patients. Global evidence supports the conclusion that telehealth’s benefits outweigh its risks.

Researchers are calling for reforms to allow the use of telehealth for VAD consultations. This follows a 2023 Federal Court ruling which determined that “telehealth cannot be used during the VAD process as it is an offence to use a ‘carriage service’, such as a phone or video call, to counsel or incite su***de.”

This Ruling was made despite the Queensland VAD Act saying
“For the purposes of the law of the State, and for the purposes of a contract, deed or other instrument entered into in the State or governed by the law of the State, a person who dies as the result of the self-administration or administration of a voluntary assisted dying substance in accordance with this Act—
(a) does not die by su***de; and
(b) is taken to have died from the disease, illness or medical condition … from which the person suffered.”

20/04/2026

TELEHEALTH RESTRICTIONS – URGENT RESPONSE REQUIRED

Please contact DWDQ President Kate Kunzelmann urgently on 0493 048 022 or by email to [email protected] if you, or anyone you know, who has applied for VAD, is being or has been, adversely affected by Telehealth requirements.

This restriction on how health professionals communicate about VAD is causing disruptions and delays in end of life options for terminally ill Queenslanders who wish to apply for VAD.

Telehealth restrictions prevent conversations between a doctor and their patient about VAD by telephone, video conference, email, fax or other forms of electronic communication.

Currently, a prescription for the VAD medication must be posted or physically hand delivered by a doctor or pharmacist to a pharmacy close to where the person lives – it cannot be emailed, as are prescriptions for other medications.

The prohibition of electronic communication for VAD care disadvantages people who live in a rural or remote areas.

THIS MUST CHANGE

16/04/2026

OUR FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE JEANETTE WILEY DIED LAST SUNDAY NIGHT.
Jeanette was on the committee of Dying With Dignity Queensland for 15 years and was Vice President for 10 years.

The video is of Jeanette speaking at the 2021 DWDQ AGM. This is how we like to remember her.

VALE Jeanette

12/04/2026

DWDQ President Kate Kunzelmann attended the long-anticipated INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ASSISTED DYING AND OTHER END OF LIFE CARE that was held in Brisbane from 8 to 11 April.

This was an assembly of international and Australian experts, sharing insights and ideas from Australian jurisdictions and from around the world.

Kate offers her congratulations to QUT (Australian Centre for Health Law Research) for holding this inspiring conference.

There was a good representation of Australian Dying with Dignity organisations. What was learned will inform our response to the Review of the Queensland VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING ACT 2021, due this year.

Discussions centred around:
• State of VAD in participating countries and Australian states
• Clinical, ethical and legal issues
• Legislative possibilities / regulation
• Role of palliative care
• Organ donation after VAD
• Challenges in indigenous communities
• DEMENTIA / Advance request / loss of capacity (the elephant in the room)
• Bereavement care for relatives and friends of participants.

The picture is of Professor Ben White and DWDQ President Kate Kunzelmann

05/01/2026

THE QUEENSLAND VAD ACT WAS IMPLEMENTED ON 1 JANUARY 2021.

Item 154 on page 99 of The Act states"
“(1) The Minister must review the effectiveness of this Act as soon as practicable after the end of 3 years after the commencement.
(2) The review must include a review of the eligibility criteria.”

DWDQ has not yet been informed about the date that this review is to start. As soon as this information is available, we will let you know. Stay tuned!
To see a copy of The Act, search online for “The Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021”