VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING ACT 2017 (NO. 61 OF 2017) - SECT 34 Person assessed as eligible for access to voluntary assisted dying may make written declaration
VOLUNTARY ASSISTED DYING ACT 2017 (NO. 61 OF 2017) - SECT 34
Person assessed as eligible for access to voluntary assisted dying may make written declaration(1) A person may make a written declaration requesting access to voluntary assisted dying if the person has been assessed as eligible for access to voluntary assisted dying by—
(a) the co-ordinating medical practitioner for the person; and
(b) a consulting medical practitioner for the person.
(2) The written declaration must—
(a) specify that the person—
(i) makes the declaration voluntarily and without coercion; and
(ii) understands the nature and the effect of the declaration the person is making; and
(b) be signed by the person making the declaration in the presence of 2 witnesses and the co-ordinating medical practitioner.
(3) Despite subsection (2)(b), a person may sign a written declaration at the direction of the person making the declaration if—
(a) the person making the declaration is unable to sign the declaration; and
(b) the person signing—
(i) is aged 18 years or more; and
(ii) is not a witness to the signing of the declaration.
(4) A person who signs a written declaration on behalf of the person making the declaration must do so in that person's presence.
(5) If a person makes a written declaration with the assistance of an interpreter, the interpreter must certify on the declaration that the interpreter provided a true and correct translation of any material translated.
Note
Interpreters who assist in relation to requesting access to or accessing voluntary assisted dying must meet certain requirements—see section 115.