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Australia

Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) is legal in every state in Australia. Victoria was the first state to allow assisted dying in 2017.

The law in Australia

Every state in Australia allows assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults. The Australian Capital Territory (a federal territory in the country that includes the capital, Canberra) recently passed a law which will come into force in 2025.

The models of assisted dying across Australia are very similar to what is being proposed in the UK. Australia continues to provide proof of how assisted dying laws can function safely and effectively, with widespread popular support.

Helping someone die by suicide is a crime in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It can mean a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

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