COTA NT (also known as Council on the Ageing NT) is the peak body for Seniors in the Northern Territory advocating for their rights and wellbeing since 1969
Home > Voluntary Assisted Dying for the Northern Territory
Vountary assisted dying for the Northern Territory
As a Supporter of VAD choice for the Northern Territory, you can SHARE any of the materials on this page with your family, friends, neighbours and networks.
“I encourage you to act relentlessly, respectfully, and with careful research. And let’s go forward and get this done.” Andrew Denton (view recording of Darwin community information session here)
Pledge cards and petition pages can be returned to COTA NT, GPO Box 852 Darwin NT 0801. Alternatively, photos of pledge card displays can be sent by email for use in our online Supporters Gallery and the petition can be signed online here. You are also welcome to use the pledge card as a ‘postcard’ to your Local MLA (keep a record, preferably photographic of what you send).
Additional Information
14 October 2025 – Voluntary Assisted Dying in the Northern Territory Final Report tabled in Parliament. Bill to be drafted for early 2026 based on the 86 recommendations in the Final Report (not on the draft Bill provided by the Leader of the Opposition. No date was provided for completion of the draft Bill.
On 2 October, the NT News reported that of the 25 MLA, 13 politicians had stated they personally believed the NT should allow voluntary assisted dying, 10 had declined to comment or were recorded as undecided. (These were Members for: Brennan, Port Darwin, Wanguri, Sanderson, Barkly, Spillett, Blain, Karama, Casuarina and Fong Lim). Many of these Members were also reported as seeking the views of their communities and said that they would be voting in accordance with the wishes of their electorate.
⚖️ Write to your local Member
Email your local politician to ask them to take urgent action on VAD (act now) – You can use the suggested text or write your own message.
Show your support of VAD choice in the NT and sign our print oronline petition. This is worded,
To the Speaker and the Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory This petition as signed below calls the attention of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly to: The Northern Territory is the only place in Australia without a voluntary assisted dying (VAD) law. The Petitioners therefore ask that the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly: Pass a voluntary assisted dying law in the Northern Territory without delay.
You can sign or pick up petition pages to share at COTA NT’s head office at 65 Smith Street, Darwin during normal opening hours or download a Petition-Time to Write This Law page. This must be returned to COTA NT at your own cost. If you wish, you can sign the same petition online hereinstead (n.b. the petition is hosted on the change.org platform). DO NOT SIGN A PRINT AND DIGITAL VERSION.
⚖️ Sharing the Petition
You can share the online petition by text, social media or email.
Hi there I just signed the petition “Time to Write This Law: Voluntary Assisted Dying Choice for the NT” and wanted to see if you could help by adding your name. Our goal is to reach 200 signatures and we need more support. You can read more and sign the petition here: https://chng.it/BsDnrLHPRv
⚖️ Share your story if you wish (click here) Politicians care about you, the voters. If you feel comfortable, please share your story of why you want the law to change on VAD. It might be a personal experience, or perhaps you saw a loved one die badly. In other states, these stories have been the single most effective way to influence politicians.
⚖️ Donate to national advocacy charity, Go Gentle Australia – Go Gentle was founded in 2016 by broadcaster Andrew Denton following his own father’s painful death. Go Gentle Australia promotes and enables choice at the end of life, including the option of voluntary assisted dying. DONATE HERE
September 2025 – Go Gentle Australia partnered with COTA NT to campaign for VAD choice in the NT. Donations are always welcome and the campaign is not yet over.
⚖️ Spread awareness within the NT community about VAD and the work being done to pressure politicians to draft VAD law for the NT.
Follow leading advocates on social media and share their posts:
COTA NT (https://www.facebook.com/COTANorthernTerritory/)
VADintheNT (https://www.facebook.com/VADintheNT/) Community information page managed by COTA NT.
John Baylis’ Fight for VAD – Read excerpts from the diary of Darwin man John Baylis, 83 as he died of Motor Neurone Disease, 18 years after the Andrews’ ‘coup’
Report into Voluntary Assisted Dying in the Northern Territory (Final Report 2024) – The report was developed by an independent expert advisory panel, co-chaired by the Hon Vicki O’Halloran AO CVO and Duncan McConnel SC. The panel undertook a wide range of public consultation for voluntary assisted dying from August 2023 to May 2024. During this period, the panel visited Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine, Alice Springs, Nhulunbuy, Jabiru, Tennant Creek and Wadeye. Members heard from over 350 individual participants through public forums and meetings, met with around 60 organisations, received 98 written submissions and almost 1,400 survey responses. The report details 22 recommendations which government will now consider, and if supported, will inform draft legislation for voluntary assisted dying in the Northern Territory.
*See also: Petition must be signed by at least one person on the sheet on which the text of petition is printed. Subsequent signatures may be written on the sheets containing the request of the petition. Petition must be signed by the parties whose names are on the petition, by their own hand, and by no one else, except in the case of incapacity or sickness. No letters, affidavits or other documents may be attached to any petition. Petition must not be altered or otherwise marked up or amended. Upon presentation to the Assembly, petition will become a public document. (Full Guidelines-to-Lodging-a-Petition here)
