The Victorian Minister for Health, Jill Hennessy has recently announced the members of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board (Board). Former Supreme Court judge, Betty King QC will chair the Board with ICU specialist, Charles Corke to act as deputy chair. The remaining 11 members are made up of health and legal experts.
Legalised voluntary assisted dying is set to come into force in June 2019, giving the Board 12 months to prepare for its introduction. The Board is responsible for overseeing the scheme, which includes reviewing all applications to access voluntary assisted dying to ensure medical assessment have been done correctly and the person applying is not doing so under duress. The Board will have the power to refer cases to the police, the coroner and AHPRA.
Each of the Board members has been appointed for an initial term of 6 years. The Board will also review the legislation in detail 5 years after its commencement.
Read the Government’s media release here.