Legality of euthanasia occurred in September 2016. In September 2014, the Federal Euthanasia Commission gave convicted rapist and murderer Frank Van Den Bleeken the right to assisted suicide. Van Den Bleeken had served decades in prison for a 1989 crime and no longer wished to live. Over a dozen other inmates filed similar petitions. In January 2015, the Justice Ministry acknowledged that Van Den Bleeken's doctors recommended against euthanasia and that alternative psychological care would be sought for him. Voluntary active euthanasia, called "physician assisted dying", is legal in Canada for all people over the age of 18 who have a terminal illness
Legality of euthanasia was once legal in the Northern Territory, by the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995. In 1997, the Australian Federal Government overrode the Northern Territory legislation through the introduction of the Euthanasia Laws Act 1997. Unlike the states, legislation in the Northern Territory is not guaranteed by the Australian constitution. During the brief period in which euthanasia was legal in the Northern Territory, Dr. Philip Nitschke helped three people end their lives through assisted suicide using his Deliverance machine. Organizations such as Exit International want the government to bring back euthanasia rights to Australia. Exit made TV commercials which