Calls have been made for an inquiry into Queensland’s ‘assisted dying’ laws after new figures for the most recent quarter showed numbers continued to increase.
The release of the data comes after full-year figures revealed that assisted deaths accounted for approximately 3% of all deaths in Queensland in 2025-26.
This is the highest proportion for any state in Australia at year three and the highest proportion of deaths resulting from assisted deaths at year three among all jurisdictions in the world with their own assisted death laws.
The proportion of assisted deaths has even outstripped Canada at year three, which previously held the record for the highest percentage of deaths from assisted suicide at year three, and is widely regarded as having one of the most extreme assisted death laws in the world.
This will likely get much worse if the law is expanded and safeguards are removed in Queensland, as is being called for by assisted death campaigners and astonishingly by the very Review Board tasked with ensuring the law and its purported safeguards operate properly.
High numbers in Queensland continue
According to the ‘Voluntary assisted dying in Queensland 1 July to 30 September – Quarterly Report’ from the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board in Queensland, in the third quarter of 2026, there were 283 reported deaths from assisted suicide and euthanasia, with euthanasia now accounting for 80% of those deaths, and assisted suicide accounting for the remainder.
This is an increase from the previous quarter, 1 April to 30 June 2026, when there were 278 reported deaths from assisted suicide and euthanasia.
This takes the total number of people who have ended their lives by euthanasia or assisted suicide in Queensland to 3,475.
According to the quarterly report, only around 1 in 14 (7%) assessed as eligible had a neurological condition, a relatively small proportion, despite the alleged need for people with neurological conditions to access assisted suicide or euthanasia regularly being referred to by campaigners as a key reason for introducing assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Record deaths from assisted dying
According to the ‘Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board Annual Report’, there were 532 euthanasia deaths from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, accounting for 67.09% of all assisted dying deaths, while from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, there were 836 euthanasia deaths, accounting for 77.26% of all assisted deaths in the region.
The total number of people who have ended their lives by euthanasia or assisted suicide in Queensland has also increased for the financial year 2025-2026 to a record 1,082, marking a 36.44% increase since the first full year the practice was legal in 2023-2024 when there were 793.
The report reveals that the number of people requesting assisted suicide or euthanasia who were recorded as not having accessed palliative care at their first assessment increased from 359 in 2023–24 to 503 in 2025–26, an increase of over 40.11% in two years.
Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board calls for further expansion of assisted death law
Currently, a person seeking an assisted death is required to have a consultation in person with the relevant medical professional at some point in the assisted dying process. In its most recent report, the Queensland Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board recommends removing that safeguard. Instead, the Board recommends the introduction of telehealth assisted deaths where “to be used for the provision of all steps with the voluntary assisted dying process”. This could involve a video call or a phone call for all stages of the assessment for assisted suicide. This could make coercion far harder to detect.
The Board also recommends considering the removal of other safeguards and the expansion of “existing eligibility criteria” for assisted dying to include people with dementia.
Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, Chief Executive of Right To Life, said “We are calling on Queensland’s Health Minister, Tim Nicholls, to commission an urgent independent inquiry into Queensland’s assisted suicide and euthanasia system, including whether claimed safeguards in current legislation are protecting vulnerable people in practice”.
“Full-year figures show that assisted deaths accounted for approximately 3% of all deaths in Queensland”.
“This is the highest proportion for any state in Australia at year three and the highest proportion of deaths resulting from assisted deaths at year three among all jurisdictions in the world with their own assisted death laws”.
“The proportion of assisted deaths has even outstripped Canada at year three, which is widely regarded as having one of the most extreme assisted death laws in the world”.
“This will likely get much worse if the law is expanded and safeguards are removed in Queensland, as is being called for by assisted death campaigners and astonishingly by the very Review Board tasked with ensuring the law and its purported safeguards operate properly”.
Dr Gregory Jackson, Head of Research at Right To Life, said “Unlike in some other jurisdictions, Queensland does not publish data on complications arising during an assisted suicide or euthanasia in its reports. Such data must be recorded for all cases of euthanasia but the Review Board are making a decision not to publish it”.
“The significant gaps in publishing of data require urgent correction. Without effective and accurate data collection, there is a risk that problems that the public ought to know about remain undetected and unreported”.
