On 24 June 2014, the Senate referred the exposure draft of the Medical Services (Dying with Dignity) Bill 2014, with particular reference to the rights of terminally ill people to seek assistance in ending their lives, and an appropriate framework and safeguards with which to do so, to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report.

The closing date for submissions is 21 August 2014. On 22 October 2014, the Senate granted an extension of time for reporting until 10 November 2014.

Owing to the large number of submissions received, the committee has decided not to publish all submissions. The committee has decided to publish all submissions from organisations and academics and an equal number of individual submissions both supporting and opposing the Bill. The individual submissions published are representative of the submissions received.

Committee Secretariat contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Phone: +61 2 6277 3560
Fax: +61 2 6277 5794
legcon.sen@aph.gov.au