Deaths through euthanasia and assisted suicide have surged in the Australian state of Victoria, with official figures showing 512 people died after receiving or being administered voluntary assisted dying drugs during the 12 months ending June 30, 2026. That represents a 31.6% increase from 389 deaths the previous year and accounts for approximately 1.1% of all deaths in Victoria. Demand is rising even faster: 1,156 people applied for access during the reporting period, an increase of nearly 40%. Of the 512 deaths, 372 occurred after individuals self-administered the prescribed substance, while 140 involved administration by a healthcare practitioner. Victoria pioneered legalized voluntary assisted dying in Australia when its law took effect in 2019, and annual deaths under the program are now nearly four times higher than during its first full year of operation.
The numbers are rising as Victoria prepares to loosen several restrictions surrounding the practice. Amendments passed by Parliament in November 2025 are scheduled to take effect in April 2027, including reducing the minimum assessment period from nine days to five and removing restrictions that prevented certain healthcare professionals from initiating conversations about voluntary assisted dying with patients. Supporters argue that the changes remove unnecessary barriers for terminally ill people experiencing intolerable suffering and emphasize that applicants must meet legal eligibility requirements. Opponents, including religious and palliative-care advocates, warn that expanding the system could weaken protections for vulnerable patients precisely when they are confronting pain, disability, fear, depression, isolation, or dependence upon others. A separate incident disclosed in the latest report has intensified concerns: authorities say the partner of an approved applicant apparently used medication prescribed to the applicant to die by suicide after the applicant died in hospital, prompting referral of the case to the coroner.
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