Voluntary assisted dying portal

The Department of Health (ABN: 74 410 330 756) (“the department”, “we”, “us”) operates the Voluntary Assisted Dying Portal (the “Portal”).

The Portal consists of an online platform that allows medical practitioners, employees of the Department of Health, employees of the statewide pharmacy service (run by Alfred Health) and members of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board (“Board”) to undertake their specific functions to facilitate a person to access voluntary assisted dying as per the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Vic) (“Act”). The Portal is the platform through which all voluntary assisted dying forms as prescribed in the Act will be completed and submitted to the Board and the Department.

1. Acceptance

By accessing or using the Portal you agree to be bound by this Voluntary Assisted Dying Portal Terms of Use Agreement (“Terms”).

If you do not agree with these Terms, or if you are neither a medical practitioner, employee of the Department of Health, employees of the state-wide pharmacy service (Alfred Health) or a member of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board, you will not be granted access to the Portal.

These Terms apply to all users of the Portal (Users). Users of the Portal belong to one of the defined user categories below:

1. Medical Practitioner users have completed the approved assessment training as required by the Act and have completed the registration process for the Portal. These user accounts have been approved by the secretariat of the Board for creation. Medical practitioners using the Portal must intend to support a person or persons to access voluntary assisted
2. Drugs and Poisons Officers are employees of the Department of Health and Human Services Medicines and Poisons Regulation Branch. They will use the Portal for the purpose of reviewing and processing applications for a permit to prescribe a voluntary assisted dying
3. Secretariat users are employees of the department who undertake the secretariat function for the Board. They will undertake process checks on forms and facilitate the process of form submission by other
4. Statewide pharmacy service users are employees of the statewide pharmacy service who will use the Portal to record that a voluntary assisted dying substance has been dispensed and disposed of in line with the
5. Members of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board will use the Portal to review voluntary assisted dying cases and to undertake the quality and safety functions as defined in the

2. Amendments to terms

We will notify you and seek your further agreement should we need to amend these terms of use.

3. Permitted use of the portal

You must only use the Portal and any information contained within the Portal for a purpose permitted by the Act (“Permitted Purpose”).

When using and accessing the Portal you must comply with all applicable laws of the State of Victoria, including without limitation your obligations under the Act, the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic), the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic), the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (if applicable).

You must not:

1. use the Portal for any purpose other than the Permitted Purpose;
2. use data mining or similar data gathering tools on the Portal or in relation to any Content;
3. use the Portal to send unsolicited email, junk mail, “spam”, or chain letters, or promotions or advertisements for products or services;
4. submit, upload, post or transmit any defamatory, abusive, racist, obscene, threatening or pornographic content to the Portal or any materials which infringe the rights (including intellectual property rights) of the department or any third party;
5. upload or permit any virus or malicious code to adversely affect the Portal or any associated equipment, or interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Portal;
6. reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code of, the Portal or Content or any part thereof;
7. use the Portal to mislead or deceive others;
8. collect or store data about other Users of the Portal or information about patients held within the Portal; or
9. interfere with any other User of the

If you think any Content on the Portal is inappropriate, inaccurate, out of date, unlawful or infringes your rights, please contact us (see section 16);

4. Registration of users

• Registration process

For medical practitioners –

If you wish to register as a User with the Portal, you must complete the registration process on the Portal, including by providing:

1. your contact details;
2. a minimum of 100 points of identification to enable identity verification and;
3. details of your qualifications, AHPRA registration number, training and expertise as required by the Act.

By submitting an application to be registered as a User, you warrant that all information that you submit is accurate, complete and up to date. You must also have completed the approved assessment training prior to your account being approved. The approved assessment training must be renewed every three (3) years. If

your training expires, your Portal account will be suspended, and you will be prohibited from using the Portal until your training completion date has been updated by us.

The department, on behalf of the Board, may accept or reject any registration submitted by a potential User at the discretion of the department and the Board. The department does not provide any guarantee that any registration request will be accepted.

For all other Users –

For all other Users as defined in part 1 of these terms, we will create your profile on your request and agreement. You must agree to these Terms, by providing us with a signed copy of these Terms, before your profile is created. You will be sent an email once your account is created to finalise your account set up and unique login details.

4.2 Accuracy of profile information

The department relies on Users to ensure that the profile information that they have provided to create their Portal account is kept up-to-date, complete and accurate at all times.

4.3 Profile information must be kept up to date

You must notify us of any changes to your profile. If you notify us of any changes to your profile, we will update your profile on your behalf. You can contact us using the contact details in part 15 below if there are any details in your profile which are incorrect, out-of-date, incomplete or inaccurate.

5. Intellectual property rights

The intellectual property rights in the Portal and all materials (including all documents, text, data, logos, downloaded material, software and any other multimedia) made available via the Portal (“Content”) are either owned by the department, or licensed to us, and all rights in the Content is reserved.

We grant Users a limited right to access the Portal and view the Content, subject to these Terms.

Users must not copy, modify, adapt, publish, transmit, commercially exploit, reproduce or distribute any Content unless you have first obtained our written consent to do so.

Users are not restricted from using any of their personal information provided or submitted through a voluntary assisted dying form, in which case the User owns the intellectual property rights. You grant us the right to use this information for all purposes required by us to carry out our functions under the Act.

The department reserves the right to review, edit, move or delete any Content at any time without notice.

6. Privacy

• Portal Users

Any personal information collected through your use of the Portal will be dealt with in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

By using the Portal, you acknowledge and agree that:

1. your personal information is being collected by the department;
2. if you are a medical practitioner, you will be submitting personal and health information about a person wishing to access voluntary assisted dying. You must inform that person that their information will be held within the Portal by the department and will be provided to the authorised Users of this
3. you can request access to your personal information in accordance with your statutory rights by contacting the department using the contact details in section 15;
4. your personal information will be used for purposes that include:
   1. facilitating the voluntary assisted dying process as detailed in the Act;
   2. implementing and conducting risk management, cyber security or fraud protection activities in connection with the Portal, and may be disclosed to our third party service providers (such as website hosting companies) who are involved in the operation of the

6.2 Persons wishing to access voluntary assisted dying

If you are a person wishing to access voluntary assisted dying, you will not be granted access to the Portal. Your co-ordinating medical practitioner and consulting medical practitioner, as defined in the Act, will complete and submit these forms to the Board on your behalf.

You can read the department Privacy Policy and Voluntary Assisted Dying Portal collection statement to learn more about who your information will be disclosed to, how you can access your information and how it will be stored.

You can request access to the information submitted to the board through the Portal by requesting a copy of the forms from your medical practitioner, or by contacting the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board.

7. Termination or suspension of the portal

The department has the right to terminate or suspend the operation of the Portal (including in part) for any reason, without notice and without liability.

The department may (without limitation) suspend the Portal to conduct maintenance or to implement updates.

8. Termination or suspension of your access to the portal

The department may (without limitation) suspend or terminate your registration for the Portal at any time and for any reason.

Without limiting the foregoing, the department may suspend or terminate your profile and access to the Portal, if:

1. you are in breach of these Terms;
2. you do not have, or cease to maintain, any particular professional qualifications, approvals or training required to be a User of the Portal or required under the Act;
3. you become the subject of any legal or disciplinary proceedings, including criminal or Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency investigations, that would preclude you from participating in voluntary assisted dying;
4. the department is unable to contact you after making three attempts (at least one of which must be in writing).

9. Your username and password

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username and password to the Portal. You agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your username or password. You must only use your own username and password when accessing the Portal.

If you become aware of unauthorised access to your Portal profile, you must notify us by contacting us on: VADBoard@health.vic.gov.au

10. Monitoring by the department

You acknowledge that the department has no obligation to monitor your use (or any other User's use) of the Portal, but it has the right to do so at any time for its own purposes, including as required to determine your compliance (or the compliance of any other User) with these Terms or to comply with any law or government authority request.

10.1 Activity logs

When you access the secure areas of the Portal, records of the individual activity by registered Users is logged and used by the department for auditing purposes. The following information is recorded:

• Username of the individual;
• Date and time of access; and
• Records that have been created, accessed or modified or

11. Complaints and dispute resolution

• Disputes between Users

The department has no obligation to any User to assist or be involved in any dispute between Users (including in relation to Permits being issued or not issued by the Secretary/delegate of the Secretary). The department may, in its absolute discretion, choose to provide assistance in relation to disputes between Users from time to time if (and to the extent that) the department deems it appropriate and it is consistent with its role under the Act.

11.2 Complaints in relation the department’s role in administering the Portal

If you have a complaint relating specifically to the department's role in administering the Portal (and which does not relate to a dispute between Users), then you may notify the department of the complaint using the contact details in section 15.

12. Disclaimer

• The Website

The content of this Portal is made available for information purposes and for you to fulfil your legal obligations under the Act.

The information provided through this Portal has been collected through a number of sources. The department recommends that you exercise your own skill and care with respect to your use of this Portal and carefully evaluate the accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance of information on this Portal for your purposes.

12.2 Disclaimers and limitations of liability regarding external websites

This Portal provides links to external websites. The department does not control and accepts no liability for the content of those websites or for any loss arising from your use or reliance on those websites. The department does not endorse any external website and does not warrant that they are accurate, authentic or complete. Your use of any external website is governed by the terms of that website. The provision of a link on this Portal to an external website does not authorise you to reproduce, adapt, modify, communicate or in any way deal with the material on that external website.

13. Exclusion of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the State of Victoria and the department and their directors, officers, employees and agents exclude all liability for any loss or damage (including, without limitation, direct, indirect, special or consequential loss, loss of use, loss of data, loss of business or profits, business interruption or loss of opportunity) which you suffer or incur due to your use or reliance on the data contained within this Portal where such loss is caused by your use of this Portal unlawfully or in contravention of these Terms.

You are advised to read all provisions of these Terms prior to accepting them.

14. General

These Terms are to be governed by and construed in accordance with the law in force in Victoria, Australia and you agree to unconditionally submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts having jurisdiction there.

A reference to "includes" or "including" in these Terms means "includes (or including) without limitation".

If the department does not take action in relation to a particular breach of these Terms, this will not be treated as a waiver by the department of any right or remedy in respect of any existing or future breach of these Terms.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable that provision may be:

1. read down to the extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable; or
2. severed and the remaining provisions of these Terms

15. Contact details

You can contact us about the Portal by emailing VADBoard@health.vic.gov.au.

16. Your agreement

If you are a User other than a Medical Practitioner user, you must indicate your acceptance of these Terms by signing and dating below. Once completed, please provide a signed and dated copy of these Terms to the Secretariat, who will upload a copy to your profile on the Portal.

Medical Practitioner users must indicate their acceptance of these Terms by checking the box on the Portal’s self-registration form.

Version date: July 2024

The independent Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board (the board) is committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals accessing or supporting persons to access voluntary assisted dying in Victoria. The board is a statutory body established by the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (the Act). Its secretariat functions are provided by the Department of Health (the department). The department works closely with the board and the department to ensure the privacy of all individuals is maintained.

The board and the department collect and handle your personal information (which may include health and other sensitive information) for the purposes of enabling individuals to access voluntary assisted dying as required and authorised by the Act and consistent with their privacy obligations in the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and Health Records Act 2001. Your personal information is generally collected by the board when voluntary assisted dying is accessed through the online Voluntary Assisted Dying Portal (the portal).

To enable a person access to voluntary assisted dying, personal information about medical practitioners, the person requesting access to voluntary assisted dying (their patient) and their patient's appointed contact person must be provided by the co-ordinating and consulting medical practitioners through a series of prescribed forms. These forms are provided to the board, the Secretary of the department (or their delegate) and the statewide voluntary assisted dying pharmacy service through the portal.

Medical practitioners must use the online portal to create online profiles for themselves and their patients. They must complete and submit the required forms through the portal for the request and assessment process and the issuing of permits and in doing so they must ensure that:

• the information they submit is complete and accurate;
• they are authorised by their patient to create a profile and to provide their health information in the forms through the portal; and
• they have made their patient and the contact person aware of the information contained in this Privacy Statement.

If the board and the department do not receive all the information required to comply with the Act, a patient cannot access a voluntary assisted dying medication.

The board must also collect additional information about medical practitioners who train, undertake assessment for and apply to practice voluntary assisted dying for identity and verification purposes. To create an account with the portal, medical practitioners will be required to provide evidence of their identity. This is required to enable their identity to be verified, which is required for the forms to be completed and submitted electronically. Medical practitioners must also provide evidence of fellowship with a specialist medical college or vocational registration as a general practitioner. Medical practitioners will undertake the online approved assessment training and the date on which they completed this training will be provided to the department by the training authority, as completion of the approved assessment training is a requirement of the Act.

After a person has accessed voluntary assisted dying, the board is required to contact the patient’s nominated contact person to inform them to return of any unused voluntary assisted dying substance to the dispensing pharmacy and to outline the support services available to assist with this. The board will invite the contact person to share information regarding their experience of accessing voluntary assisted dying for its quality improvement and research functions. The board may also survey medical practitioners to request feedback on the portal and process to support a patient to access voluntary assisted dying.

To perform its statutory functions, the board may also disclose personal information it collects to other bodies including the department, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, the Coroner’s Court of Victoria and in limited situations, Victoria Police and the Victorian Civil Administration Tribunal. The board may share de-identified information with approved research bodies, and de- identified aggregated information about the people accessing voluntary assisted dying will be reported publicly and to the Victorian Parliament through for example, annual reports.

More information - access, correction and complaints

You may request access to and correction of your personal information that the department and the board collects about you using the contact details below.

Contact the department

For more about how the department collects, uses, shares and manages your personal information and handles privacy complaints, please refer to its privacy policy or email privacy@health.vic.gov.au.

Contact the board

You can contact the secretariat of the board by emailing VADBoard@health.vic.gov.au or writing to us at:

Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board

Care of The Department of Health

Level 7, 50 Lonsdale Street, VIC 3000.

Version 2: last updated July 2024

Overview

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board (the board) is committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals who access voluntary assisted dying in Victoria.

The board is a statutory body established to monitor all activity under Victoria’s new voluntary assisted dying legislation and to receive copies of all forms that are required under the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (the Act). The Department of Health (the department) provides administrative support for the board. The department works closely with the board to ensure the privacy of all individuals is maintained.

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Portal (the portal) is an electronic platform through which the forms and permit applications required to access the service are completed and submitted by your medical practitioner. The forms are submitted to the board.

The board and the department collect and handle personal and health information about patients for the purposes of enabling individuals to access voluntary assisted dying as required and authorised by the Act, in line with relevant privacy and record keeping laws. Your personal information is collected by the board when the forms are submitted through the online portal.

Information collected through the portal

The portal allows medical practitioners to complete and submit the forms required under the Act. To do this, your doctor will create a profile for you in the portal. Your profile will include mandatory information required under the Act, such as your name, date of birth and address.

If you wish, you can provide extra information such as the language you speak at home and the type of accommodation that you live in, to help the board learn more about the patients that access voluntary assisted dying.

Your doctor will provide the board with health information about you that is required in the Act, such as information about your diagnosis and prognosis. The Written Declaration Form and the Contact Person Appointment Form that you will complete will be provided to the board through the portal by your doctor.

How your information will be used

Information about you that is submitted through the portal will be accessed and used by:

• your co-ordinating medical practitioner and consulting medical practitioner
• the board and the department, to review all voluntary assisted dying cases in Victoria
• the Secretary of the Department of Health (or their delegate), to process a permit application to
• give you a voluntary assisted dying medication
• pharmacists at the statewide pharmacy service, to dispense you a voluntary assisted dying

The department will share the name, date of birth and address of all patients who receive a permit for a voluntary assisted dying medication to Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria. This is to enable the identification of individuals who are deceased and hold a permit for a voluntary assisted dying medication. The board has a responsibility to contact the appointed contact person to ensure the return of any unused medication.

The board will use de-identified, collated information about patients in the reports they release to the Victorian Government and the public about voluntary assisted dying activity in Victoria.

Your information will also be used by the board for quality improvement and research purposes. Any information shared with researchers will be de-identified.

In limited situations, the board may also disclose information about you to other bodies such as the Coroner’s Court of Victoria, Victoria Police and the Victorian Civil Administration Tribunal.

How your information will be stored

The Victorian Government takes the security of your information very seriously. All efforts have been taken to ensure that the portal is secure and to protect the data and privacy of individuals. Only people required to view your information are authorised to access it. Many security features have been built into the portal to ensure the information held by the board is secure.

Accessing your data

Your medical practitioner will be able to inform you about what information they have provided to the board about you. You can request a copy of the voluntary assisted dying forms submitted to the board from your medical practitioner.

We will not be able to delete any information that is submitted about you through the portal, even if you decide that you don’t want to continue your voluntary assisted dying request. This is because the board must store the health information that it receives about all voluntary assisted dying cases, even those that do not proceed, for a minimum of seven years.

If you wish to contact the board, you can email the secretariat of the board at

VADBoard@health.vic.gov.au.

You can also write to us at:

Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board care of Department of Health

Level 7, 50 Lonsdale Street, VIC 3000.

Privacy questions or complaints

For more about how the department collects, uses, shares and manages your personal information and handles privacy complaints, please refer to its privacy policy or email privacy@health.vic.gov.au.

Version 2: last updated July 2024