Regional, rural and remote communities

QVAD-Access supports a voluntary assisted dying doctor or nurse to travel to the person, or a person accessing voluntary assisted dying to travel to a doctor or nurse, when local services are unable to provide the necessary support.

QVAD-Access is a travel subsidy arrangement, managed by the Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Support Service (QVAD-Support).

QVAD-Access may support the travel costs within Queensland of:

• People accessing voluntary assisted dying
  • person accessing voluntary assisted dying
  • support person (aged 18 years or older) of a person accessing voluntary assisted dying
• Service providers
  • an authorised voluntary assisted dying doctor or nurse
  • a person with appropriate skills and training who has accepted a referral for determination from an authorised voluntary assisted dying doctor
  • an interpreter.

QVAD-Access covers the most clinically appropriate and cost-effective mode of transport available.

QVAD-Access does not fund the cost of voluntary assisted dying consultations. A service provider and the person accessing voluntary assisted dying should discuss and agree any consultation costs before travel is booked.

Telehealth

Telehealth is often used by people living in regional, rural, and remote areas to access healthcare. However, this is not possible for some steps of the voluntary assisted dying process. Telehealth may be clinically inappropriate, not practicable, or prohibited under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

Your doctor or nurse will advise when telehealth can and cannot be used.

Eligibility

QVAD-Support, in consultation with the voluntary assisted dying doctor or nurse and the person accessing voluntary assisted dying, will decide whether QVAD-Access will cover the service provider or the person’s travel. QVAD-Support will consider the following criteria:

• a first request for voluntary assisted dying has been made and accepted
• the services are not available locally
• voluntary assisted dying consultation is required and cannot be conducted via telehealth, or the person accessing voluntary assisted dying is required to collect the substance for self-administration
• other QVAD-Access requirements are met, refer to the table below for details.

Other QVAD-Access requirements

Person accessing voluntary assisted dying	required to travel more than 50km (one way) from their home address to the place of consultation
Support person	maximum of 1 support person at least 18 years of age willing and able to act in the support role and travel with the person
Service provider	required to travel more than 50km (one way) from their home address to the place of consultation willing and available to act in the role required by the person Plus: Voluntary assisted dying doctor or nurse authorised to provide voluntary assisted dying services in Queensland Person accepting a referral for determination has the appropriate skills, training and scope of practice to accept a referral for determination Interpreter meets accreditation criteria for voluntary assisted dying or received an exemption from Queensland Health

Contact

For more information contact QVAD-Support

Email: QVADSupport@health.qld.gov.au
Phone: 1800 431 371