Health care worker not to initiate discussion about voluntary assisted dying
10 Health care worker not to initiate discussion about voluntary assisted dying
A health care worker who provides health services or professional care services to a person must not, while providing the services to the person—
initiate a discussion with the person that is in substance about voluntary assisted dying, or
in substance, suggest voluntary assisted dying to the person.
Note—
A contravention of this Act is capable of constituting unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct for the purposes of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, whether or not the contravention constitutes an offence.
Subsection (1) does not apply to a medical practitioner who initiates a discussion or makes a suggestion referred to in subsection (1)(a) or (b) if, at the time the discussion is initiated or the suggestion is made, the medical practitioner also informs the person about the following—
the treatment options available to the person that would be considered standard care for the disease, illness or medical condition with which the person has been diagnosed,
the likely outcomes of the treatment options available to the person,
the palliative care and treatment options available to the person,
the likely outcomes of the palliative care and treatment options.
Also, subsection (1) does not apply to a health care worker, other than a medical practitioner, who initiates a discussion or makes a suggestion referred to in subsection (1)(a) or (b) if, at the time the discussion is initiated or the suggestion is made, the health care worker also informs the person that the person—
has palliative care and treatment options available, and
should discuss the palliative care and treatment options with the person’s medical practitioner.
To avoid doubt, subsection (1) does not apply to a health care worker who provides information about voluntary assisted dying to a person at the person’s request.
In this section—
health care worker means—
a registered health practitioner, or
another person who provides health services or professional care services.
This Act’s bill:Second reading speech
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