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Health New Zealand is responsible for overseeing and monitoring all operational aspects of the Assisted Dying Service, including collecting data and generating summary reports. Information continues to be released quarterly, in line with the calendar year.  

Due to low numbers, some quarterly data (such as the number of applications by month and region) cannot be reported to protect the privacy of the people engaging with the service.  

Please note that the current report reflects a summary of individuals’ interactions with the Assisted Dying Service within the three-month period ending 30 September 2023. Accordingly, medical assessments and outcomes may refer to applications initiated in a prior quarter.    

A more detailed reporting of the cumulative data across the first year of service (November 2021 – November 2022) is available on Health NZ website: Assisted Dying Service yearly reporting. The 2023 annual service report will be published in the first quarter of 2024.  

Assisted dying service activities this quarter



Overview of assisted dying service 

Between 1 July and 30 September 2023, the service received 213 applications for assisted dying. There were also 32 applications active that had been initiated before this quarterly reporting period. 

Attending medical practitioners (AMPs) completed 200 assessments and independent medical practitioners (IMPs) completed 144 assessments. Psychiatrists also completed some assessments (number withheld for privacy protection) in this period. In total, 158 applications were confirmed as eligible. 

AMPs facilitated 76 assisted deaths during this quarter. 

Of the applications reviewed during this period, 77 were still in progress as of 30 September 2023. 

During this quarter, 92 applications did not proceed to an assisted death due to:  

  • the application not complying with The End of Life Choice Act 2019  
  • the applicant withdrawing their application  
  • the applicant being ineligible or not competent to give consent at, or following, assessment  
  • the applicant dying due to underlying conditions.  


Of the 213 applications received during this quarter:  

  • 97.2% were Pākehā   
  • 5.6% were Māori  
  • 53.1% were Tāne/ Male, (46.9% Wahine/ Female)   
  • 83.1% were aged 65 years or older  
  • 77.0% were receiving palliative care at the time of the application 
  • 64.8% had a diagnosis of cancer.  

Demographic summary of applications 

A demographic summary of the 190 applications received this quarter is presented in Table 1 below.  

 

Table 1: Demographics of people that have applied for assisted dying services in the period 

Demographic summary  

 Applications3
  

% of applications  

Ethnic group1  

Māori  

12  

5.6%  

Pacifica  

2  

0.9%  

European  

207  

97.2%  

Asian  

1  

0.5%  

Other  

0  

0.0  

Sex  

Female/Wāhine  

100  

46.9%  

Male/Tāne  

113  

53.1%  

Gender diverse  

0  

0.0%  

Age Group  

18-44 years  

6  

2.8%  

45-64 years  

30  

14.1%  

65-84 years  

128  

60.1%  

85+ years  

49  

23.0%  

Diagnosis2 

Cancer  

138  

64.8%  

Neurological condition  

18  

8.5%  

Chronic Respiratory Disease  

11  

5.2%  

Cardio-vascular condition  

14  

6.6%  

Other organ failures  

5  

2.3%  

Multiple/Co-Morbidities  

; 6  

2.8%  

Not known4

36  

16.9%  

Receiving palliative care at the time of application?  

Yes   

164  

77.0%  

No  

49  

23.0%  

Not stated  

0  

0.0%  

Reported a disability at the time of application?  

Yes  

29  

13.6%  

No  

183  

85.9%  

Not stated  

1  

0.5%  

 

Notes:  

  1. Total ethnicity has been used. This means that individuals reporting more than one ethnicity are included within each category to which they identify. Ethnicity in this report is based on patient records in the health system, while in the previous reports ethnicity in the application form was used.  
  2. Total diagnosis has been used. This means that individuals presenting with multiple diagnoses are included within each applicable diagnostic category.   
  3. Valid repeat applications are included as unique instances. This means, in cases where an individual submits multiple applications during this period, their information is recorded in the demographic data each time.  
  4. ‘Diagnosis not known’ includes individuals who have applied but have not yet completed their first assessment with their AMP as well as those that withdrew, died before this assessment was completed, or were ineligible.  

Assisted deaths by location

Between 1 July and 30 September 2023, 76 people had an assisted death. Assisted deaths can take place at the person’s home or elsewhere in the community. The summary by location is:  

  • 60 (or 78.9%) at the person’s home  
  • 4 (or 5.3%) in a public hospital  
  • 12 (or 15.8%) in a community facility (e, aged residential care, hospice, retirement home, funeral home).  

SCENZ (Support and Consultation for End-of-life New Zealand) group practitioner lists  

The Support and Consultation for End of Life in New Zealand group (SCENZ) is responsible for maintaining the list of medical practitioners and psychiatrists involved in providing assisted dying services. 

Medical practitioners can be on the SCENZ list for more than one role, depending on their scope of practice (AMP, IMP, psychiatrist). 

As of 30 September 2023, 134 medical practitioners (including doctors, and psychiatrists) and 13 attending nurse practitioners (ANP) were on the SCENZ list. A growing number of health practitioners have chosen to become providers of assisted dying services as an AMP for their own patients without registering to be included on the SCENZ list. Some of these health practitioners have subsequently chosen to join the SCENZ group and make themselves available to additional patients. 

Disclaimer

An earlier version of this quarterly report was published with a validation error. The report has since been corrected as of 13 November 2024 to remove duplicate applications.