Dr Rahman amendments to sections 15, 16 and 19 of the NT Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill (2026)
The Member for Fong Lim is today distributing the full text of three amendments to the Rights of the Terminally Ill Bill (2026) he will be moving at the August 2026 Legislative Assembly Sittings (attached).
Section 15
This amendment explicitly recognizes that a relevant entity can choose to not facilitate or participate in VAD processes. Notwithstanding, it ensures that a terminally ill resident of a body corporate must at a minimum be referred to the official VAD care navigator service, and also be provided with any other information prescribed by regulation.
Section 16
This amendment ensures that a health care worker can initiate a conversation about VAD with a terminally ill person, but only under condition that:
- they believe the person meets the eligibility criteria, AND
- they simultaneously inform the person about treatment and palliative care options, and the likely outcome of those treatments and care, AND
- they initiate a conversation in accordance with any requirements prescribed by regulation.
Section 19
This amendment will allow a terminally ill person to access VAD without a 12-month prognosis timeframe, provided their condition is ‘progressive and expected to cause death’, AND separately ‘advanced’ as now defined in the legislation.
Attributable to Dr Rahman
“Relevant entities, health care workers, and terminally ill persons all deserve genuine freedom to choose to participate in or abstain from VAD processes. Information about VAD, however, must be freely available without interference.”
“Health care workers should be able to initiate discussions about VAD, provided they are suitably informed to provide comprehensive advice to a dying patient.”
“Dispensing with a 12-month prognosis timeframe is reasonable provided we clearly define ‘advanced’ in the legislation. It’s a better eligibility standard than an arbitrary number of months.”