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MEDIA ALERT: From Margins to Mainstream - Voluntary Assisted Dying Conference, 19-20 October 2026

Go Gentle Australia

Key Facts:

• VADCON26 is a two-day voluntary assisted dying conference taking place on 19–20 October at The Carson Conference Centre in Melbourne
• VADCON26 brings together over 350 health professionals, policymakers and advocates from Australia and New Zealand.
• The conference will explore developments in VAD clinical practice, policy and research, with a focus on ensuring safe, equitable and compassionate access to VAD services.
• Sessions will cover topics including the future of end-of-life care, eligibility criteria involving comorbidities, the relationship between VAD and palliative care, stigma, and end-of-life choices for people living with dementia.
• The 2026 Voluntary Assisted Dying Awards, recognising excellence in VAD care, advocacy and research, will be presented at a gala dinner co-hosted by conference MC Andrew Rochford and Andrew Denton.

Join more than 350 health professionals, policymakers and health advocates as they discuss the future of end-of life care at the Voluntary Assisted Dying Conference (VADCON26) in Melbourne.

VADCON26 brings together leading voices from across Australia and New Zealand to explore developments in VAD clinical practice, policy and research and the challenges that remain in ensuring safe, equitable and compassionate access to VAD services.

What: Voluntary Assisted Dying Conference 2026
When: Monday 19 – Tuesday 20 October
Where: The Carson Conference Centre, 535 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Details: https://www.vadcon.com.au/program

Dr Andrew Rochford, one of Australia’s most trusted health communicators, will MC the event. Panels and sessions include: 

• The future of end-of-life care, a keynote address from Dr Ranjana Srivastava
• Months to live: Can and should co-morbidities make a person eligible for VAD? Ken Hillman Professor of Intensive Care, UNSW, and Ben White, Professor of End-of-Life Law and Regulation, QUT
• One end-of-life system? VAD, palliative and end-of-life care, panel discussion led by Dr Clare Fellingham, with a presentation from MND Australia’s CEO Clare Sullivan
• Stigma and VAD care, Tim Broady, Senior Research Fellow at the UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health
• End-of-life choice for people living with dementia; emerging research and the international experience, panel discussion led by Dr Linda Swan, CEO Go Gentle Australia

“Voluntary assisted dying is now legal across Australia, but there’s still a long way to go to make sure everyone who is eligible can access it,” said conference co-convenor Dr Linda Swan, CEO, Go Gentle Australia. “VADCON26 is about tackling those challenges and making VAD a normal, accepted part of end-of-life care.”

The 2026 Voluntary Assisted Dying Awards, recognising excellence in VAD care, advocacy and research will be presented at a gala dinner hosted by Andrew Rochford and Andrew Denton on Monday 19 October. 

About us:

VADCON is the only conference in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand dedicated solely to voluntary assisted dying, bringing together the full breadth of the sector: health professionals, service leaders, policymakers, researchers, advocates, and people with lived experience. 

Contact details:

For media contact and media passes contact Go Gentle Australia

0426 283 865  [email protected]