Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board Annual Report (July 2022 to June 2023)

This is the seventh report from the independent Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board. 

It details activity under the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 from 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023 and is the second annual report from the Board. 

View previous reports 

The report shows that since June 2019 (when the Act commenced) until 30 June 2023:

• 2203 applications to access voluntary assisted dying have been started
• 1527 permits were issued 
• 912 permit holders died from taking the prescribed substance 
• 347 trained medical practitioners are now registered in the portal to support voluntary assisted dying.

The report provides details about who is accessing voluntary assisted dying: 

• the median age of applicants was 74 years and half of all applicants were aged 65-81 years
• just over half of the applicants were male (54 per cent male, 46 per cent female)
• over one third (36 per cent) of applicants lived in regional Victoria, despite only 22 per cent of the Victorian population living in regional areas. 
• 81 per cent of applicants were accessing palliative care at the time of requesting voluntary assisted dying
• 15 per cent had a non-malignant diagnosis, most commonly a neurodegenerative disease

The independent Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board plays an important role in assuring the community and health practitioners that voluntary assisted dying is closely and independently monitored and reviewed.