Overview (Voluntary Assisted Dying Board Annual Report 2023-24)

This is the second annual report of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board submitted to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing in accordance with the requirements of section 120(1) of the Act. Information and statistics contained herein are reflective of the 12 months from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.

The information provided in this report includes:

  • a snapshot of voluntary assisted dying activity since 31 January 2023
  • personal reflections on voluntary assisted dying from family members and health practitioners that have been involved in the pathway
  • a presentation of data and statistics regarding voluntary assisted dying activity in South Australia collected by the Review Board during 2023-24
  • an overview of voluntary assisted dying services in South Australia
  • an overview of continuous improvement activities undertaken to date to improve the voluntary assisted dying pathway and those that are planned for the coming year

Data in this report shows a consistent gradual increase in voluntary assisted dying activity from month to month since inception.

Overall deaths from administration of the voluntary assisted dying substance were around 1 percent of total deaths in South Australia for this 12 month reporting period, rising to 1.2 percent in the second half of the year. These figures are consistent with the range reported by other jurisdictions in Australia which have reported rates of deaths from voluntary assisted dying substance administration of between 0.65 and 1.6 percent of deaths.

Glossary

To support the reader to engage with the content of this report a glossary is provided at Appendix 2 (PDF 289KB).