Voluntary assisted dying is set to be legalised in NSW today, after a marathon debate in the upper house that lasted until midnight failed to produce a vote.
MPs spent more than eight hours debating nearly 100 amendments on Wednesday.
The government requested for the house to sit past its midnight shutdown, but Robert Borsak, from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party — who is also an opponent of the bill — objected.
The majority of the amendments were voted down during the debate, including the push to give aged and residential homes the power to block voluntary assisted dying taking place in their facilities.
There is now one more amendment to be debated, before a final vote in the upper house this morning.
The bill will then go back to the lower house for approval before it becomes law.
NSW is the only state yet to pass legislation to allow voluntary assisted dying.
The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 bill was introduced into the lower house by Independent MP Alex Greenwich in October last year.
The bill was co-sponsored by 28 MPs from across the political spectrum, the highest number of co-sponsors for any bill in an Australian parliament.
The introduction of the bill followed a petition bearing more than 100,000 signatures in support of such legislation.
Politicians from both major parties were given a conscience vote on the bill.
It is not the first time a bill to legalise voluntary assisted dying has been introduced into the NSW parliament.
The last attempt was in 2017, when a bill introduced to the upper house by Nationals MP Trevor Khan was defeated by a single vote.
That meant it never made it to the lower house.
A recent survey carried out by the NSW Council on the Ageing found that 72 per cent of people over 50 in NSW were in favour of legalising voluntary assisted dying.
More than half of older people in NSW said they had considered VAD for themselves.
The NSW bill seeks to create a safe framework for people who are in the final stages of a terminal illness and who are experiencing suffering that can not be alleviated by palliative care to choose to end their lives with dignity.
To be eligible under the bill, the person must be 18 years or over and be an Australian citizen.
They must have been diagnosed with an advanced disease that is likely to cause death within six months, or a year in the case of a neurodegenerative disease or condition, and which is causing suffering that can not be relieved.
The person must be found to have capacity to make a decision in relation to VAD and must be acting voluntarily without pressure or duress.
The person's eligibility would then be assessed by two medical practitioners.
Voluntary assisted dying laws have been passed in all other Australian states and in New Zealand.
Laws allowing VAD by people who meet the eligibility criteria are now in operation in Victoria and Western Australia.
Tasmania's laws will come into effect in October this year
Voluntary assisted dying under certain conditions will be legal under Queensland's law from January 1 next year.
South Australia will also enact VAD legislation in early 2023.
