Request and assessment—Voluntary assisted dying process
Consulting assessment
Your consulting doctor will do a second, independent assessment, to decide if you are eligible.
Your consulting doctor can also refer you for a second opinion to determine if you:
- have a disease, illness or medical condition that is advanced, progressive, and is expected to cause death within 12 months, that is causing intolerable suffering
- have decision-making capacity in relation to voluntary assisted dying
- are acting voluntarily or without coercion.
Outcome of the assessment
Assessed as eligible
You will be assessed as eligible and meeting the requirements of the consulting assessment If your consulting doctor is satisfied you:
- meet all the eligibility criteria
- understand the information provided.
They will advise your coordinating doctor that they have assessed you as eligible. You can then make a second request to your coordinating doctor.
Assessed as ineligible
Your consulting doctor can assess you as ineligible for voluntary assisted dying if they are not satisfied you:
- meet all the eligibility criteria
- understand the information given to you about voluntary assisted dying.
If your consulting doctor assesses you as ineligible, your coordinating doctor may refer you to another doctor for another consulting assessment. There is no limit on the number of times this can happen. However, if your coordinating doctor does not think it is appropriate to refer you, the process ends.
You can also apply to have certain consulting and coordinating doctors’ decisions reviewed by QCAT.
What you can do
If your coordinating doctor decides not to refer you for another consulting assessment you can:
- make a new first request to a different doctor
- if your situation changes, make a new first request to the same doctor at a different time.
If you do this the voluntary assisted dying process will start from the beginning.
In this guide: