Voluntary Assisted Dying

The Hon. L.A. HENDERSON (15:12): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General regarding voluntary assisted dying.

Leave granted.

The Hon. L.A. HENDERSON: In September of this year, my office submitted FOI requests that asked for, and I quote, 'the number of individuals that have been convicted and sentenced to a term of imprisonment or charged and awaiting sentencing, that have been approved for Voluntary Assisted Dying since the legislation has come into effect' and 'the number of applications that have been made to access Voluntary Assisted Dying by individuals who are serving a term of imprisonment or charged and awaiting sentencing, since the legislation has come into effect and the status of those applications'.

The determination showed that the answer was two for each of those FOI requests. My question to the minister is: since it was the Attorney-General's private member's bill that had passed the previous parliament, does he now believe that the legislation should be re-evaluated to ensure that those who are convicted of a crime and imprisoned, or those who are awaiting a conviction, would not be able to access voluntary assisted dying?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:14): I understand that, and I will have this double-checked, the Minister for Health, who is responsible for the legislation, has referred these questions to the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board.