A new study examining Queensland general practitioners' willingness to participate in voluntary assisted dying has identified significant barriers preventing wider uptake of the service, just over a year after the state's scheme commenced.
The research, published in the Australian Journal of General Practice, explores GPs' perspectives on the first year of voluntary assisted dying in Queensland and factors influencing choices on whether to participate. The findings suggest that while some doctors remain supportive in principle, the practical hurdles to involvement are substantial enough to keep many from actively offering the service.
Queensland commenced its voluntary assisted dying scheme on 1 January 2023, following legislation passed the previous year. However, the availability of doctors willing to provide the service has remained uneven. According to the study, a significant problem is that current conditions do not sufficiently incentivise GPs who are not already offering voluntary assisted dying to begin participating.
This doctor shortage reflects a broader pattern across Australian states. In Victoria, the main barrier to access was finding doctors willing to assist people seeking voluntary assisted dying, with identifying a coordinating practitioner (the first doctor in the process) being particularly difficult. In Victoria, only 37 per cent of doctors trained in VAD work in rural areas, creating stark geographic disparities in access.
The obstacles preventing doctor participation are multifaceted. A barrier identified was the unknowns and lack of education on VAD, with many practitioners expressing concern about procedural complexity. Remuneration is another factor: VAD providers have expressed concern that recurrent underpayment may disincentivise them and others from doing this work in the future because of the demanding workload and difficulties balancing VAD provision with existing clinical roles.
Some states have begun exploring different solutions. The Australian Capital Territory became the first Australian jurisdiction to permit nurse practitioners to assess eligibility for VAD. Given evidence of access barriers to VAD in Australia, including difficulty finding a doctor willing to assist, the Australian Capital Territory's approach should prompt consideration of whether the role of nurses in VAD should be expanded in other Australian jurisdictions.
The Queensland study's findings carry particular weight because in 2026, Tasmania, Queensland and New South Wales are reviewing their laws, with the Queensland review specifically examining the eligibility criteria, something not required of the Victorian and Western Australian reviews. The review could provide an opportunity to address systemic barriers to doctor participation alongside patient access concerns.
For patients, the practical consequence is stark. Two-thirds of people surveyed did not know voluntary assisted dying was legal, and even those aware of the option face prolonged difficulty locating willing practitioners. The convergence of low public awareness and a reluctant medical workforce creates a significant bottleneck that legal availability alone cannot remedy.
The Queensland research underscores a fundamental tension in Australia's voluntary assisted dying schemes: safety safeguards, while important, have inadvertently created access problems that legislation alone cannot solve. Addressing the doctor shortage will require change beyond law reform, likely involving better compensation, clearer training pathways, and potentially a reconsideration of which health professionals can assess eligibility.