Aspect of process	Summary of VAD Act provisions
Discussions about VAD (Section 8 of the VAD Act)	Registered health practitioners cannot initiate discussions about VAD or suggest VAD to a person in the course of providing health or personal care services.
Eligibility criteria (Section 9 of the VAD Act)	To be eligible for access to VAD, a person must: 1. be aged 18 years or more; 2. be an Australian citizen or permanent resident; 3. be ordinarily resident in Victoria for at least 12 months at the time of making a first request; 4. have decision‐making capacity in relation to VAD; 5. be diagnosed with a disease, illness or medical condition that is: − incurable; − advanced, progressive and will cause death; − is expected to cause death within 6 months (or 12 months, for neurodegenerative diseases, illnesses or medical conditions); and − is causing suffering to the person that cannot be relieved in a manner the person considers tolerable.
Request and assessment process (Part 3 of the VAD Act)	A person may access VAD if: 1. they have made three requests for VAD (a first request, written declaration, and final request); 2. they have been assessed as eligible for access to VAD by two eligible medical practitioners who have completed mandatory training (called the co‐ordinating medical practitioner, who completes the first assessment, and the consulting medical practitioner, who completes the consulting assessment); 3. they have appointed a contact person; 4. the co‐ordinating medical practitioner has completed the final review, certifying the process was in accordance with the VAD Act; and 5. they have been issued with a permit by the Secretary of the Department of Health (see below). The person must also understand specific information (e.g., about prognosis, treatment and palliative care options), and their request must be enduring, and they must be acting voluntarily and without coercion. The written declaration must be witnessed by two independent, eligible witnesses. The person must have decision‐making capacity, including at the time of administration.
Permit approval (Part 4 of the VAD Act)	A self‐administration or practitioner administration permit must have been issued in relation to the person by the Secretary of the Department of Health before the person is authorised to access VAD.
Administration (Part 5 of the VAD Act)	The default method of administration is self‐administration. Practitioner administration is only permissible if the person is physically incapable of self‐administering or digesting the VAD substance. For practitioner administration, the person must make an administration request and administration must be witnessed by an independent witness. The VAD substance is managed by a coordinated, statewide pharmacy service. The contact person has obligations in relation to the VAD substance, including returning any unused or remaining VAD substance to the dispensing pharmacy.
Oversight (Part 9 of the VAD Act)	The Act establishes the VAD Review Board as the oversight body to review VAD cases in Victoria. Forms must be completed and uploaded at to an electronic portal at certain steps in the process and are reviewed by the VAD Review Board. Some decisions made during the request and assessment process are reviewable by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The contact person is contacted by the VAD Review Board to provide feedback and has other reporting obligations.

Abbreviations: VAD, voluntary assisted dying.

^a Table is adapted from Jeanneret et al. ¹⁸