First Nations Perspectives in Law-Making About Voluntary Assisted Dying.

Abstract

Voluntary assisted dying laws have now been enacted in all six Australian States with reform being considered in the remaining two. While there is an emerging body of literature examining various aspects of regulation, there has been scant consideration of what these reforms mean for First Nations peoples, and to what extent their experiences have been considered in the process of developing legislation. This article provides a critical analysis of how Indigenous perspectives both contributed to, and were engaged with, during the law reform processes in Victoria and Western Australia, the first two States to grapple with this topic. Findings reveal the sophistication in how Indigenous organisations and individuals engaged with this issue and highlight the critical importance of not universalising Indigenous perspectives. Significantly, there was much greater engagement with Indigenous views in Western Australia than in Victoria. We conclude by considering how Indigenous voices can meaningfully influence Australian law reform processes.