While Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) has now been legalised in all states and territories except the Northern Territory, the importance of defending human life and dignity has not let up.

The inevitable effort to erode or remove conscientious objection provisions is never ending, so it is promising that the New South Wales government is, at present, looking at a bill that would enshrine those important religious freedom protections.

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Amendment (Residential Facilities) Bill 2025, due to be debated soon, would amend the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2022 to expand the religious freedom protections provided to faith-based hospitals to include faith-based aged-care facilities.

This would mean aged-care facilities have the same choice to decline to be involved in VAD and to disallow VAD on their premises.

For those invested in religious freedom, this bill is an obvious good, but in a culture that doesn’t share the commitment to human life, any effort to restrict VAD will be resisted.

Critics of the bill object that the proposed law is unconstitutional and claim that it conflicts with the Commonwealth Aged Care Act 2024. However, legal scholar Neil Foster writes there is no constitutional right for a person to access VAD wherever they like and that:

The States, such as NSW, remain free to allow faith-based aged care providers to operate in accordance with their faith commitments, while allowing residents to be transferred elsewhere if they wish to access VAD.

This reflects the basic tenet of religious freedom that religious organisations have a right to operate in accordance with their faith. That means they have the right to refuse to facilitate the intentional taking of life by a doctor.

This bill will protect that right and HRLA will continue to monitor its progress and support its passage.