Public consultation for the review of the End of Life Choice Act (2019)

Assisted dying is a sensitive topic and may be difficult for some people. Phone or text 1737 to speak with a counsellor anytime, for free.

The End of Life Choice Act 2019 (the Act) is the law that makes assisted dying legal in New Zealand. It came into force on 7 November 2021. The Act is administered by the Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora, and the Assisted Dying Service is delivered by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora.

The Act sets out the legal framework for assisted dying, including eligibility criteria, processes, safeguards to protect patients and practitioners, and the establishment of administrative bodies to oversee and monitor the provision of assisted dying.

The Ministry of Health is currently undertaking a review of the operation of the Act, to be completed in November 2024.

Further information on the review can be found in the Terms of Reference.

The Government recognises that assisted dying is an issue on which there are a range of strong views, and that many individuals and organisations have expressed a desire to share their views on the Act.

As part of the review the Ministry is providing this consultation where individuals and organisations can share their views on changes they believe could be made to the End of Life Choice Act.

The consultation includes questions that you can respond to when providing feedback, but you are free to provide feedback on any aspect of the Act.

Questions asked in this consultation Questions asked in this consultation

About you

• Your name
• Who you represent
• Are you part of an organisation?
• Do you live in New Zealand?
• Do you want your personal details removed from your submission in Official Information Act requests?

Access to assisted dying

• Do you think changes are needed to the eligibility requirements for a person to receive assisted dying?
• Do you think that changes to areas other than eligibility are needed to support access to assisted dying?

Safeguards

• Do you think the Act provides sufficient safeguards to ensure that people only receive assisted dying if:
  • they are eligible (referenced in clauses 5, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 of the Act)
  • they actively seek and consent to it (referenced in clauses 11, 12, 18, 23, 33, and 34 of the Act)
  • they are competent to consent to it (referenced in clauses 5, 6, and 15 of the Act)
  • this consent is provided without pressure from others (referenced in clauses 11 and 24 of the Act).

  Process to receive assisted dying

  • Do you think any changes are needed to the process to apply for and receive assisted dying?

  Practitioners providing assisted dying

  • Do you think changes should be made to the requirements for medical practitioners and nurse practitioners to provide parts of the assisted dying process?

  Oversight of assisted dying

  • Do you think changes are required to the roles and responsibilities of the entities established under the Act to oversee assisted dying (the SCENZ Group (clause 25), the End of Life
  • Review Committee (clause 26), and the Registrar (assisted dying) (clause 27))?

  Alignment with the wider health system

  • Do you think the assisted dying process aligns with other parts of the health system?
  • Is there anything that could be improved?

  Other feedback

  • Do you have any other feedback related to the Act?

  The review will produce two reports which will be provided to the Minister of Health:

  • A report from the Ministry of Health outlining findings from its review of the operation of the Act.
  • An accompanying report summarising the public feedback received through this online consultation on the Act.

  These reports will be tabled in parliament, where individual parties can decide whether they wish to pick up and progress changes through members’ bills.