Voluntary assisted dying will soon be legal in the Northern Territory, after its parliament passed new legislation on Thursday via a conscience vote. All but one member (who abstained) voted to pass the bill.

This makes the NT the last Australian jurisdiction to legalise voluntary assisted dying. It will be available to Territorians in early 2028.

So, why did it take so long for the NT to join other states and territories? And will voluntary assisted dying in the NT look different from other parts of Australia?

The NT population has the highest proportion of Indigenous people in any state and territory, and almost half of Territorians live rurally or remotely.

Here’s what that means for voluntary assisted dying.

Why did it take this long?

The NT actually had the first voluntary assisted dying laws – not only in Australia, but the world.

The territory passed its original Rights of the Terminally Ill Act in the mid-1990s. But the federal government banned territories from making laws on this topic (though states were allowed) and overrode the NT legislation nine months later in 1997.

In 2022, that ban was lifted meaning the NT could legislate on voluntary assisted dying again.

An independent expert advisory panel in 2024 and a parliamentary committee in 2025 each recommended making voluntary........

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