16Eligibility criteria

#### 16 Eligibility criteria 16 Eligibility criteria > > (1) The following criteria must be met for a person to be eligible for access to voluntary assisted dying— > > > > > (a) the person is an adult, > > > > > (b) the person— > > > > > > > (i) is an Australian citizen, or > > > > > > > (ii) is a permanent resident of Australia, or > > > > > > > (iii) at the time of making a first request, has been resident in Australia for at least 3 continuous years, > > > > > (c) at the time of making a first request, the person has been ordinarily resident in New South Wales for a period of at least 12 months, > > > > > (d) the person is diagnosed with at least 1 disease, illness or medical condition that— > > > > > > > (i) is advanced, progressive and will cause death, and > > > > > > > (ii) will, on the balance of probabilities, cause death— > > > > > > > > > (A) for a disease, illness or medical condition that is neurodegenerative—within a period of 12 months, or > > > > > > > > > > Note— > > > > > > > > > > See subsection (2)(b) which provides that a person is not eligible for access to voluntary assisted dying merely because the person has dementia. > > > > > > > > > (B) otherwise—within a period of 6 months, and > > > > > > > (iii) is causing suffering to the person that cannot be relieved in a way the person considers tolerable, > > > > > (e) the person has decision-making capacity in relation to voluntary assisted dying, > > > > > (f) the person is acting voluntarily, > > > > > (g) the person is not acting because of pressure or duress, > > > > > > Note— > > > > > > See the definition of pressure or duress in the Dictionary in Schedule 1. > > > > > (h) the person’s request for access to voluntary assisted dying is enduring. > > > (2) A person is not eligible for access to voluntary assisted dying merely because the person has— > > > > > (a) a disability, or > > > > > (b) dementia, or > > > > > (c) a mental health impairment within the meaning of the [Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2020-012). > > > (3) To avoid doubt, if a person permanently loses decision-making capacity in relation to voluntary assisted dying at any time during the request and assessment process the person ceases to be eligible for access to voluntary assisted dying under subsection (1)(e). > > > (4) For subsection (3)— > > > > permanently, for a loss of decision-making capacity in relation to voluntary assisted dying by a person, means the person has lost the capacity to make decisions in relation to voluntary assisted dying forever.