New South Wales was the last Australian state to pass voluntary assisted dying (VAD) legislation, effective on 28 November 2023.
The Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network (JHNSW) is responsible for the health care of people in contact with the criminal justice system in NSW and was tasked with implementing a VAD pathway for prisoners.
A steering committee was formed with the Corrective Services NSW, the local health district, the CSNSW Inmate Consumer Referent Group, the Mental Health Review Tribunal, the JHNSW Clinical Ethics Committee, the Victims Support Scheme and the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW to create dignified and culturally safe pathways for prisoners to access VAD.
The ethical and legal challenges of integrating VAD into the NSW correctional settings are highlighted below, with a hypothetical patient journey demonstrating the pathway.