The Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board has this week published a report detailing the first six months of the legislation in action in Victoria, covered here on Australian Doctor.

The report reveals 52 people legally ended their lives from the time voluntary assisted dying became legal on 19 June last year to the end of December.

While the Victorian Government is hailing the report as an indicator the law is operating successfully, some questions remain.

Notably, the report only documents people who have accessed the legislation. It doesn’t tell us about those who may have wanted to be assessed for voluntary assisted dying, but not been able to.