Clearer definitions of what it means to be in the last stages of life and to have an advanced terminal condition will be included in amended voluntary assisted dying laws set to be debated in the ACT's parliament.
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The ACT government has agreed with the recommendations of a Legislative Assembly inquiry, which said the government needed to better define the use of "advanced" and "last stages of their life" in its bill.
Human Rights Minister Tara Cheyne said the amendments would provide clinical flexibility for assessing an individual's condition.
"In doing so, they will also clarify the policy intent that an advanced condition is not limited to the final days, weeks or months of a person's life and that a person may be considered to be eligible for voluntary assisted dying even if it is uncertain whether their relevant conditions will cause death within a 12-month period," Ms Cheyne told the Assembly on Tuesday.
Ms Cheyne said it was difficult to broadly define an interpretation that suited all conditions that would make a person eligible to access voluntary assisted dying.
"Further information on the meaning of advanced will be provided through clinical guidance material developed in consultation with health practitioners during the implementation period," she said.
No expected time frame to death will be required in the ACT to become eligible for voluntary assisted dying, unlike other jurisdictions, but the person would need to be in the "last stages of life", the bill said.
The parliamentary inquiry heard evidence the term could create uncertainty as health professionals may take different views on what the phrase means.
But the government has rejected a recommendation to introduce a minimum 48-hour period between a person's first and second request to access assisted dying, with Ms Cheyne saying the period would make no practical difference in light of safeguards.
"Experience from other jurisdictions has shown that it is highly unlikely in practice that an individual could access VAD in less than 48 hours, due to the multiple steps and rigorous nature of the VAD process," the government's response said.
"The government also considers this additional requirement to be unnecessary. The Bill contains a number of safeguards to ensure an eligible person's request is voluntary and enduring. The ACT model requires health professionals to be sure that a person is not being coerced into accessing VAD, and there are strong penalties where this occurs."
The government also rejected a recommendation to mandate a shorter time frame to return any unused or expired approved substances used after a person accesses voluntary assisted dying.
The government agreed, agreed in part or agreed in principle to 25 of the parliamentary inquiry's recommendations.
"The government acknowledges the very strong interest in broadening eligibility criteria demonstrated during public consultation and is committed to including this in the scope of the initial legislative review to further explore how this might be operationalised," the government's response said.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
