Four Australian states – Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia – now permit voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in limited circumstances and more may follow. One controversial feature of all four schemes is that access is restricted to patients who have been resident in the providing state for at least 12 months.

This seminar by Associate Professor Amelia Simpson on 11 August 2021 examines the possible justifications for restricting access to VAD and the potential for challenge under Section 117 of the Australian Constitution, which proscribes discrimination on the basis of out-of-state residence.