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).

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.

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:

• 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:

• Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board
• Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Information Management System (QVAD-IMS)
• Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT)
• Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Support Service (QVAD-Support)
• Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Pharmacy Service (QVAD-Pharmacy).