Australia’s Northern Territory is set to consider legislation to legalize doctor-assisted dying again, with attorney-general Marie-Clare Boothby saying lawmakers would evaluate a bill by mid-2026.
Boothby said lawmakers would be allowed to vote on the proposal according to their own consciences rather than being expected to follow a party line. She described the effort as a “sensitive and complex reform,” adding that the government was “taking the time to get this right” and was working “carefully and consultatively — not rushing it,” while aiming to “get the balance right.”
The announcement follows a recommendation from a parliamentary committee in September 2025 that the Northern Territory adopt a doctor-assisted suicide law and that a public education campaign be launched. The committee also urged outreach to raise awareness and counter misinformation, particularly in remote and Indigenous communities.
Boothby said drafting of the bill was underway and reiterated that the government would not avoid difficult issues, saying it was “committed to progressing these reforms carefully, thoughtfully and responsibly.”
The Northern Territory’s reconsideration comes as Australia has moved in recent decades toward legalized assisted dying. The territory was the first place in the world to legalize voluntary euthanasia in 1995, but those laws were overturned by the Australian Parliament two years later.
The AP reported that the overturning came after four terminally ill patients were legally helped to die under the Northern Territory’s 1995 framework. After that federal reversal, all six Australian states passed assisted dying laws, and the Australian Parliament later lifted the ban on territories passing such measures, including the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
The Australian Capital Territory passed its voluntary euthanasia laws in 2024. Boothby said Friday that her jurisdiction would consider a bill by mid-2026.
In comments reported by AP, Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Speaker Robyn Lambley raised concerns about how education about an assisted dying law could be delivered to Indigenous people across the territory. Lambley said establishing adequate education was “probably unrealistic,” and in an online post said, “I don’t think we’re ready,” adding, “Maybe we’ll never be ready in the Territory.”
Lambley said the concern reflected reluctance around accessing health services for anything, “even having babies,” and argued that the policy would not function as intended. She wrote, “It will be a disaster. I don’t think it will work,” and said the territory “just need[s] to take it at our own pace.”
Boothby and other officials pointed to the Northern Territory’s distinctive demographics and geography as factors that complicate implementation. The AP said the territory has about 260,000 people spread across an area almost the size of France, and that Indigenous people represent more than a quarter of the Northern Territory population, compared with 3.8% of Australia’s population of 25 million at the last census in 2021.