October 16, 2025
The NT pioneered voluntary assisted dying but it’s no longer legal
The Northern Territory was the first place in Australia to give terminally ill people the right to die on their own terms, but is now the only jurisdiction without voluntary assisted dying (VAD) laws.
A recent report recommended the NT reintroduce VAD legislation and Judy Dent wants the government to act on that suggestion.
She’s the widow of Bob Dent, who was the first person in the world who Philip Nitschke helped to die back in September 1996.
But some church groups and Indigenous Territorians are still opposed to the report’s advice — with one citing fears the NT may end up like the Netherlands, where 5 per cent of all deaths are the result of VAD.
ABC Stateline NT