Doctors who object to voluntary assisted dying on ethical grounds will not have to explain their reasoning under Queensland’s proposed laws. 

A requirement for mandatory training for those participating in the state’s scheme prevents conscientious objectors from being forced to disclose their beliefs, a parliamentary committee has been told. 

Law Associate Professor Wendy Bonython told the hearing into the state’s voluntary assisted dying (VAD) bill on Thursday that doctors may be subject to discrimination and even violence if they disclosed their beliefs.

“Being forced to publicly wear those conscientious beliefs on their sleeves may expose them to discrimination …in extreme cases may expose them to violence, and is actually a violation of their right to having a degree of privacy of thought and belief,” she said.