Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Handbook
The Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Handbook: Version 2 (PDF 8073 kB) (QVAD Handbook) assists healthcare workers, health services and others to understand their roles and responsibilities, and supports compliance with the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021 (the Act).
Read the Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Handbook: Version 2 (PDF 8073 kB).
Note: Some of the items mentioned in the handbook are undergoing final consultation and approval, once finalised they will be made available. Subscribe to find out once they are live.
Audience
The QVAD Handbook is intended for:
- medical practitioners, nurse practitioners, and registered nurses who participate in voluntary assisted dying as coordinating, consulting, or administering practitioners
- Queensland Hospital and Health Services and private entities developing policies, processes, and procedures to support access to the voluntary assisted dying scheme.
It may also be used by:
- other healthcare workers who provide care and support for people who may seek information about or access to voluntary assisted dying
- healthcare workers who conscientiously object to participating in the voluntary assisted dying process.
Information in the QVAD Handbook can be applied to a range of settings, including:
- Queensland Health Hospital and Health Services
- private hospitals
- residential aged care facilities
- hospices
- hostels or other facilities where accommodation, nursing or personal care is provided (for example, disability accommodation services)
- primary care
- community-based services
- a person’s home.
Scope
The QVAD Handbook aims to provide context to the Act and provides guidance on navigating the voluntary assisted dying process from the practitioner perspective. It covers topics including:
- the regulatory framework for voluntary assisted dying in Queensland, including offences, protections, and oversight mechanisms
- restrictions on communication
- conscientious objection
- the role of Hospital and Health Services and private entities
- the stages of voluntary assisted dying:
- preparing for participation
- receiving a request from a person
- assessment processes
- administration of a voluntary assisted dying substance
- after the person dies.
The QVAD Handbook also provides information on the roles of the:
