Calvary concerned they'd be forced to allow practitioners in to discuss euthanasia

The Catholic healthcare organisation has criticised the territory's proposed laws and has called on the government to make the scheme more in-line with those in NSW.

Calvary also rejected an offer from the ACT government to participate in a working group on the adoption of voluntary assisted dying due to their stance.

The ACT's bill says care facilities with a conscientious objection to voluntary assisted dying are not allowed to hinder access to voluntary assisted dying. A facility could face a fine of up to $81,000 in the most extreme circumstance.

Under the proposed law, a facility would not be able to prevent a practitioner from entering a facility to speak with patients about voluntary assisted dying.

This differs from legislation in other states where healthcare organisations with a conscientious objection are not obliged to assist in providing access.

Calvary regional chief executive southern NSW and ACT Ross Hawkins said the organisation had significant concerns about potential confusion arising from these discrepancies.

"Calvary is deeply concerned the proposed ACT legislation seeks to force any healthcare provider, which chooses not to participate in VAD to allow non-credentialed practitioners to enter their hospitals and hospices and provide a service outside of its ordinary scope of practice," he wrote in an opinion piece in The Canberra Times.

"In the typical course of delivering healthcare, it is routine and unremarkable for healthcare facilities not to provide every service. This may be because the services falls outside the facility's scope of practice or it may be because the facility does not wish to provide certain services."

Calvary runs a range of private facilities and hospitals in the Canberra region. The organisation used to operate the public hospital in Bruce before the ACT government extraordinarily took over the hospital this year.

The former Calvary Public Hospital Bruce was compulsorily acquired by the territory government after negotiations with Calvary about the future of the hospital failed.

The government has planned to build a new $1 billion hospital on the site and also said taking over the hospital, now known as North Canberra Hospital, would ensure a more efficient and integrated public health system.

Calvary used to operate Clare Holland House, the ACT's only public hospice, but this ended up being included in the territory's takeover of the hospital.

Calvary was invited to take part in a working group about the ACT's voluntary assisted dying but declined this.

"Calvary's stance regarding VAD is well-documented. For this reason, we declined the ACT government's request to participate in a working group about the adoption of VAD," Mr Hawkins said.

"Calvary cannot and will not provide for the administration of a substance that will directly and intentionally cause a person's death."

A select committee is inquiring into the ACT's proposed voluntary assisted dying bill, which was introduced in the Legislative Assembly in October.

Calvary submitted its concerns to the committee as part of the inquiry.

Public hearings are likely to be held as part of the inquiry in the new year with the committee required to hand down its report by the end of February.

Human Rights Minister Tara Cheyne is hopeful the bill will pass in the first half of 2024, meaning Canberrans would be able to access voluntary assisted dying by the end of 2025.