More than 7200 people have died using voluntary assisted dying since it became legal in Australia in 2019, including 3329 last financial year alone. Source: The Australian.
The rapid uptake means between 1 and 3 per cent of all deaths are now by VAD, with advocates saying that number will grow.
Queensland leads the way, recording 2110 total VAD deaths despite the end-of-life option only becoming available in that state in January 2023.
Victoria, which has the longest-running VAD regime in the country, operating since June 2019, has reported 1683 deaths overall. And New South Wales, where voluntary assisted dying became a legal option only in November 2023, has already recorded 1426 deaths.
Overall, 7204 people have died by VAD up to June 2025, an analysis by The Australian of the latest publicly available figures reveals.
This acceleration in the past year is due to growing public awareness and acceptance of VAD as a legal end-of-life option, as well as less stringent legal requirements for gravely ill patients to access the service in states that more recently legalised the practice, experts and advocates say.
In 2024-25, Queensland reported 1072 VAD deaths, NSW 1028 in its first full year of operation, while Victoria, which has a more restrictive regime, recorded 389.
Those seeking VAD in Australia are typically aged 70 to 79, and slightly more likely to be male.
In NSW and Victoria, men make up 54 per cent of applicants. Cancer is the most common diagnosis of those seeking to access VAD, followed by neurological diseases such as Motor Neurone Disease.
“The significant increase in euthanasia deaths is a red flag, because experience in the overseas jurisdictions where this is legal shows that the numbers only tend to increase,” a spokeswoman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney said.
She said she was also concerned about how VAD was working in the regions.
“It is of particular concern that two-thirds of the NSW deaths are in regional areas, where services can be limited,” the spokeswoman said.
“If euthanasia is about choice, as its proponents claim, then there should be a focus on whether patients in the regions are able to (have) access to high-quality treatment and palliative care.”
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Voluntary assisted dying deaths spike across Australia as thousands use new laws (By Stephen Lunn, The Australian)
