Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021

A relevant service provider has the right to refuse to authorise or permit the carrying out, at a health service establishment operated by the relevant service provider, of any part of the voluntary assisted dying process in relation to any patient at the establishment (including any request or assessment process under this Act).

A relevant service provider may include in the terms and conditions of acceptance of any patient into the health service establishment an acknowledgment by the patient that the patient—

understands and accepts that the relevant service provider will not permit the establishment to be used for the purposes of, or incidental to, voluntary assisted dying; and

agrees, as a condition of entry, that they will not seek or demand access to voluntary assisted dying at the establishment.

Subsection (4) applies in relation to a patient at a health service establishment if the patient advises a person employed or engaged by the relevant service provider at that health service establishment that they wish to access voluntary assisted dying.

If this subsection applies in relation to a patient at a health service establishment, the relevant service provider who operates the establishment must ensure that—

the patient is advised of the relevant service provider's refusal to authorise or permit the carrying out at the health service establishment of any part of the voluntary assisted dying process;

arrangements are in place whereby the patient may be transferred to another health service establishment or prescribed health facility at which, in the opinion of the relevant service provider, a registered health practitioner who does not have a conscientious objection to voluntary assisted dying is likely to be able to participate in a voluntary assisted dying process in relation to the patient; and

reasonable steps are taken to facilitate the transfer referred to in paragraph (b) if requested by the patient.

To avoid doubt, this section does not apply to, or in relation to, a patient accepted into a health service establishment before the commencement of this section.

In this section—

a private hospital within the meaning of the Health

the whole or part of any other private institution, facility, building or place that is operated or designed to provide inpatient or outpatient treatment, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions, nursing, rehabilitative, palliative, convalescent, preventative or other health services (including, to avoid doubt, places of short‑term respite care); or

any other health service establishment of a kind prescribed by the regulations, but does not include prescribed residential premises, or any establishment declared by the regulations not to be included in the ambit of this definition;

a facility (within the meaning of Part 2);

any other residential premises of a kind prescribed by the regulations;