The scheme was designed by the Queensland Law Reform Commission,which nonetheless called for clarity over Commonwealth laws that put a “grey cloud” over the work of doctors and could deter them from participating.
Under the Commonwealth laws,it is an offence to use a “carriage service” to counsel,promote or provide instruction on suicide – punishable by a $220,000 fine. That would seemingly include doctors using a phone or going online to talk about euthanasia with patients,even if allowed in the state system.
While some legal experts argue VAD is not strictly suicide,and the Commonwealth would be unlikely to prosecute in any event,the Queensland government has continued to push for a resolution.
Documents obtained byBrisbane Times under Right to Information laws show Queensland Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman wrote to her Commonwealth,state and territory counterparts in October asking for the issue to be put on the national agenda for resolution.
“The Queensland government is particularly concerned that the Commonwealth Government’s position on this matter will impact individuals suffering and dying in Queensland’s regional,rural and remote areas,” Fentiman wrote in one letter.
“Access for these categories of people to our VAD scheme will be greatly impaired if forms of communication involving a carriage service cannot be used to obtain relevant information and advice,for example,through telehealth services. Similar concerns are held about the possible criminal liability of health practitioners who lawfully,under the Queensland legislation,provide advice about the VAD scheme.”