August 23, 2026 — 5:01am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. AAA When eligible terminally ill Queenslanders gained legal access to drugs to end their own lives at the start of 2023, a timer in the laws began. “As soon as practicable”
When eligible terminally ill Queenslanders gained legal access to drugs to end their own lives at the start of 2023, a timer in the laws began.
“As soon as practicable” after three years, the health minister would be required to review the laws’ effectiveness and eligibility criteria.
Approaching nine months since that three-year milestone, the Crisafulli LNP government has said little publicly about a review. Former minister Jann Stuckey has an idea why.
“I don’t believe that the Crisafulli government will want to mention the word ‘voluntary assisted dying’,” she told this masthead by phone on Friday.
“Or anything that will raise any controversy amongst members – and we know that this will … I think they will avoid this release of this report or the review for as long as possible.”
Behind-the-scenes, work to launch the review is under way.
Health Minister Tim Nicholls, approached by this masthead late last month, however, has declined to detail any of its planned shape.
“The Queensland government is on the record that there will be no changes to voluntary assisted dying legislation,” a government spokesperson said in response, reiterating the LNP’s election vow.
“A review will be undertaken in accordance with the Act.” A parliamentary question on notice from independent Noosa MP Sandy Bolton late last year returned similar results.
There, Bolton was pointed to an earlier response from Nicholls to a Labor opposition question in which he reiterated the government’s commitment to providing the service.
“Queenslanders will be invited to contribute to the review at the appropriate time,” Nicholls said. When that might be remains the question for those wanting expansion – or winding-back.
First elected to the Gold Coast seat of Currumbin as a Liberal, Stuckey remaining in parliament – through the party’s formal merge with the more dominate Nationals – until 2020.
Bringing forward her retirement before that year’s election, Stuckey spoke out about the “cone-of-silence type of vilification” she felt after voting against party lines to decriminalise abortion in 2018.
She was one of only three LNP opposition figures to use the conscience vote to do so, including now-ministers Steve Minnikin and Tim Nicholls.
A long-time advocate of voluntary assisted dying, she was among those involved with lobbying group Dying with Dignity to help push support for the laws brought to parliament in 2021.
She was in the public gallery for the conscience vote that year when the laws passed, backed by 10 LNP MPs who broke with their partyroom’s majority opposition to them.
In the parliamentary and public debate then, concerns were raised by both major party MPs and faith groups about the state of palliative care and need for church-run sites to allow the practice.
Within the next year came Stuckey’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
For four years now, across multiple treatments and surgeries, 71-year-old Stuckey has had the “monster” – with a five-year survival rate of 12 per cent – come back four times.
While Stuckey herself says she may not wish to use the laws, knowing they are there “is of enormous comfort”. So it is the fear it could be taken away likely “adds to the stress of many cancer patients”.
And it is mostly used by people with a cancer diagnosis. The latest annual report of the state Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board, for financial year 2024-25, put that figure at 76 per cent.
In total from when the scheme began on January 1, 2023, to June 30 this year, the board’s data shows 3182 people have died after administering the drugs accessed through the multi-stage process.
For this, adults must be diagnosed with an advanced condition that would cause death within 12 months, be assessed by two doctors, and make three separate requests to access the scheme.
One issue noted by the board in that report was its continued lobbying of the federal government, alongside counterparts in other states, for changes to federal laws blocking access via telehealth.
The continuation of the scheme, along with Queensland’s abortion laws, emerged as a major issue during the 2024 election campaign, spurred by airing of internal LNP and Katter opposition.
Crisafulli vowed no change would be made to either set of laws, but failed to explain how he could assure this – leading to concern raised by Stuckey herself.
Ultimately, after winning power and control of parliament, Crisafulli effectively gagged any debate of abortion laws, which Stuckey described to this masthead as an “astounding” move.
No such restriction has been placed on parliamentary debate of voluntary assisted dying laws.
Stuckey, who describes herself as Christian but says religion and politics should not cross, said she was concerned the voluntary assisted dying review could present an opportunity for parts of the party who have been blocked from pushing for changes to abortion.
“I’ve been in the party room. I was there 16 years, you know, in opposition and as a minister. So I know how it works, and I and I know what the make-up of the parliament is and how they vote. I know, who’s hard-right Christian in the LNP,” she said.
“So when they’re saying they’re not going to change it [assisted dying laws], I would just take that broadly as they’re not going to overturn it. But, I mean, they’ve got the numbers to overturn it easily”.
What’s really needed, though, according to Stuckey and other advocates – beyond even the state scheme review – is action from the federal Albanese government.
While promising to review “carriage service” laws around suicide which have long been viewed as a barrier to access – particularly in regional areas – Albanese last month rejected a party push for action.
David Muir, chair of the Clem Jones Group, said his group’s longstanding advocacy would include a submission to the upcoming review urging the state to use all influence it has to resolve the matter.
In response to questions about any advocacy the state may have already taken up in this space since the election, Nicholls also declined to provide a direct answer.
“Any changes to the Commonwealth Criminal Code are a matter for the Commonwealth government,” a spokesperson for the health minister said.
If you or anyone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (and see lifeline.org.au) or Beyond Blue on1300 22 4636 (and see beyondblue.org.au).
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Matt Dennien is a reporter at Brisbane Times covering state politics, parliament and the public sector. He has previously worked for newspapers in Tasmania and Brisbane community radio station 4ZZZ. Contact him securely on Signal @mattdennien.15Connect via email.From our partners
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