2026 conference—Imagining the ideal assisted dying service
Join us at the University on 12–13 February 2026 for an engaging and transformative conference, focusing on access, safety, and equity.
Join us on 12–13 February 2026 at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington as we imagine the ideal assisted dying service in Aotearoa, focusing on access, safety, and equity.
Dive into thought-provoking presentations and discussions about the current system and how we can shape the future of assisted dying research and practice in Aotearoa New Zealand to deliver a culturally attuned, safe, accessible, and equitable service. Hear from international and local keynote speakers, people’s lived experiences, and cutting-edge research.
Sessions
The conference's sessions include:
- Research highlights—showcasing the latest research into Aotearoa’s assisted dying system, including outcomes, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
- Regulatory review—a focused discussion on the current legislation, the Ministry of Health’s review recommendations, and improving access and delivery via law reform to enhance the assisted dying system to better meet the needs of all New Zealanders.
- International and local keynotes—engaging keynote sessions by Professors James Downar and Ben White featuring prominent voices sharing insights into the broader ethical, societal, and legal dimensions of assisted dying.
- Learning from lived experiences—a session amplifying the voices of individuals and families who have navigated the assisted dying journey, offering a deeply human perspective.
- Māori stream—a dedicated session exploring tikanga Māori perspectives on assisted dying, emphasising culturally appropriate care, mana motuhake, and equity for Māori communities.
- Assisted dying provider panel—engage with assisted dying providers who share their highlights, challenges, and best practices in delivering assisted dying services.
- Integrating palliative care services with assisted dying best practice model—learn about the best practices in integrating assisted dying within hospice and palliative care, ensuring compassionate and dignified end-of-life care.
- The Future of Assisted Dying in NZ—panel discussion and presentations on the emerging trends and future possibilities for assisted dying in New Zealand.
Event details
We look forward to you joining us in person or online to be part of an enlightening and impactful dialogue that shapes the future of assisted dying in Aotearoa.
Alongside the conference will be networking opportunities, a conference dinner, and a certificate of attendance for CPD.
Dates: 12–13 February 2026
Venue: Rutherford House, Victoria University of Wellington
Format: In-person and online
Cost: $150 for in-person full conference attendance or $100 for virtual full conference attendance. Tickets will be available in due course.
Options include in-person, virtual, full and single-day attendance, and student rate. Research participants in the ‘Exploring the early experiences of the assisted dying service in Aotearoa’ project receive a 20% discount on tickets.
Registrations: the early bird rate finishes on 31 October 2025. All registrations close on 31 January 2026.
For any queries, please contact the organising team—Jessica Young, Aida Dehkhoda, Jeanne Snelling & Ellan Baker—on Assisted Dying Research AssistedDyingResearch@vuw.ac.nz
Speakers
Keynote speakers
Professor James Downar
James Downar is a Critical Care and Palliative Care physician in Ottawa. He graduated from McGill Medical School and completed residency training in Internal Medicine, Critical Care and Palliative Care at the University of Toronto. He has a Master’s degree in Bioethics from the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. He is currently Professor and Head of the Division of Palliative Care at the University of Ottawa, where he holds a Clinical Research Chair in Palliative and End of Life Care. He is an adjunct professor at the Australian Centre for Health Law Research at the Queensland University of Technology.
He is the current President of the Canadian Critical Care Society and co-chair of the Pan-Canadian Palliative Care Research Collaborative. He has authored more than 160 peer-reviewed publications and was the principal investigator on more than 30 peer-reviewed grants on topics such as medical aid in dying; communication and decision-making for serious illness; palliative care in the critical care setting; grief and bereavement; and the treatment of psychological and existential distress in advanced illness. In 2024, he received the King Charles III Coronation medal for contributions to Palliative Care in Canada, and in 2021 he received the Award of Excellence from the Ontario Medical Association’s Section on Palliative Medicine.
Professor Ben White
Ben White is a Professor of End-of-Life Law and Regulation and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow in the School of Law, Queensland University of Technology. He was a foundation Director of the Australian Centre for Health Law Research and still co-leads its End-of-Life Research Program.
Ben has researched end-of-life law, policy, and practice for over 20 years and has been part of interdisciplinary teams awarded $A65 million in the field of end-of-life decision-making, including from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, Commonwealth and State governments, and philanthropic organisations.
Ben’s research currently focuses on voluntary assisted dying (VAD). Current projects include an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship on ‘Optimal Regulation of Voluntary Assisted Dying’, a national study of VAD in practice, and an exploratory study of dementia and VAD. He (with colleagues) developed mandatory training in Victoria, Western Australia, and Queensland for clinicians providing VAD.
Dr Tess Moeke-Maxwell
Tess Moeke-Maxwell is a descendant of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and Ngāti Porou. She is a Senior Research Fellow and co-director of the Te Ārai Palliative Care and End of Life Research Group at the School of Nursing, University of Auckland. Tess leads Kaupapa Māori “lived Indigenous experience” qualitative research on behalf of Te Ārai’s Kāhui Kaumātua advisory group. Improving end-of-life, palliative care and Assisted Dying experiences for Māori whānau (family, including extended family) are her research interests. Currently, she leads the Health Research Council-funded ‘Waerea study’ on Māori whānau experiences using Assisted Dying services. Tess is an advisory member of the National Palliative Care Work Programme for Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand.
In 2022, the Royal Society of NZ awarded Tess and Te Ārai Kāhui the NZ Health Research Council’s Te Tohu Rapuora Medal for research excellence with Māori communities. She was selected as one of New Zealand’s 100 Māori Leaders as part of the Henry Rongomau Bennett Foundation Leadership Strategy based on her contributions to Indigenous end-of-life care research. Tess and her team have produced a website to support Māori whānau caregivers and New Zealand health professionals. https://www.teipuaronui.co.nz.
Featured speakers
- Dr Jessica Young—sociologist specialising in AD
- Dr Jeanne Snelling—legal scholar
- Dr Aida Dehkhoda—practitioner-researcher
- Dr Kynan Bazley—assisted dying provider
With more speaker announcements to follow.
Abstract guidelines for oral presentations
Please submit your abstract of up to 250 words using this Microsoft form (no login required) by 6 July 2024.
We invite you to submit an abstract and look forward to your valuable contributions.
Please nominate which of the following streams your talk best aligns with and how your talk will address the conference theme.
- clinical perspectives and experiences
- family perspectives and experiences
- institutional perspectives and experiences
- Māori perspectives and experiences
- oversight, law, and policy
- other (please specify).
Please note that presentation streams are a guideline for programming purposes. If your abstract does not fit a specific stream, please select ‘other’.
If your work is in progress, please advise whether it will be finished before the conference.
Please include the corresponding author’s email, affiliation, and a 100-word biography of the presenter/s.
Oral presentations will be 20 minutes plus 8 minutes for questions. Presenters must be in person.
Abstracts will be anonymised before peer review by a scientific committee.
Abstracts will be for relevance, originality, and quality (including readability, coherence, and adherence to formatting guidelines).
Outcomes will be notified in August 2025.
All presenters must register by 31 October 2025 when the early bird registration closes.
- You must declare a potential conflict of interest.
- Accepted abstracts will appear exactly as submitted.
- Ensure that your abstract is grammatically correct and free of other errors.
- Use single spacing for all text.
- Do not use abbreviations in the title of the abstract
- When using abbreviations in the abstract, spell them out in full at the first mention.
- Abstracts should not contain references, tables, or figures.
Will People be Able to Record or Download My Presentation?
In short, no. During the registration process, attendees agree to the conference terms & conditions, which include rules on unauthorised photography and recording of conference material. We will remind people at the start of the conference however, we cannot enforce this rule, so presenters should assume a participant may take unauthorised photographs, screenshots, audio, or video recordings. You may wish to adjust the content of your presentation accordingly.
Copyright and ownership of material
The authors or presenters retain ownership rights to their materials.
Conference terms and conditions
Payments
All delegate registration invoices need to be paid in full at the time of registration prior to the start of the conference to guarantee attendance. Registrants will not be allowed to attend if their registration invoices are outstanding.
Confirmation policy
Once payment has been received, an email confirmation and a receipted invoice will be sent to all delegates. This will contain all relevant details and information regarding the conference and future communications. Receiving a confirmation email means the registration has been processed, and any cancellation policies will be enforced.
Substitutions and refund policy
Substitute delegates are welcome without penalty, but please advise assisteddyingresearch@vuw.ac.nz of any name change up to 72 hours before the start of the event, for administration purposes. Should substitution not be possible, the refund policy applies.
Before 31 January 2026
100% refund, less any Humanitix fees. Buyers can action a self-service refund or cancellation using the Manage Order button on their Humanitix order confirmation email.
Between 31 January and 9 February 2026
50% refund after any Humanitix fees. Refunds after 31 January may be processed after the conference. Please email assisteddyingresearch@vuw.ac.nz to request this refund.
After 10 February 2026
Regrettably, for cancellations received on or after 10 Feb 2026, no refund can be made.
There will also be no refunds for any booked delegate who does not attend on the day (no show).
If you are registered for the networking event or conference dinner and do not attend and, in addition, fail to notify us by 31 January, no refund will apply. Cancellations must be in writing to the Conference Registration Team at assisteddyingresearch@vuw.ac.nz
Alteration to the programme—cancellation/postponement of the event
- The conference reserves the right to alter to our event programs, venues, and timings.
- In the unlikely event of an event being cancelled, a full registration refund will be made if the cancellation is made at least two weeks prior to the event. Liability will be limited to the amount of the fee paid by the delegate, less any Humanitix fees.
- In the event of another pandemic, and the conference is postponed or is run completely online, the organiser shall not be liable for any expenditure (e.g., travel and accommodation), damage, or loss incurred by the delegate.
- If by re-arrangement or postponement, the event can take place, the booking between the delegate and the organisers shall remain in force and will be subject to the conference refund policy if re-attending is not suitable.
Access requirements
Delegates should advise of any special access requirements at the time of registration.
Data protection
By registering for the conference, you consent to having your details accessed by the conference organising team.
We will only use your email to send you a survey to seek your feedback on the conference.
Permission for material presented
Please ensure you have documented permission to use any images, music, or other content in your abstract and presentation. Do not include any images copied from the internet. Getty Images and other image agencies crawl the internet looking for images that have been copied without the appropriate licenses. You are liable for all copyright infringements that arise from your presentation.
Photography and filming
Unauthorised photography and recording of conference material is not permitted.
Attendees are prohibited from taking photographs or making audio or video recordings of any conference material without prior authorisation. This includes all sessions, presentations, and any other conference-related activities or materials. This policy is in place to protect the intellectual property of presenters and the privacy of all participants.
Attendees may take photographs for personal use and knowledge, provided it does not disrupt the session or infringe on the intellectual property of the presenters. However, these photographs should not be published or shared publicly without prior consent from the conference organisers.
It is the presenter’s responsibility to make it clear if they do not wish photos to be taken for personal use.
Speakers' views
Views expressed by the conference speakers are their own. The conference cannot accept liability for advice given, or views expressed, by any speaker at the event or in any material provided to delegates by our guest speakers.
Wellness guidelines
Please ensure you are healthy and well when attending the conference and remember to practice good hygiene at all times. Please do not attend the conference if you are sick or have any Covid/Influenza symptoms. If you are feeling unwell, please stay home and inform us so that we can facilitate your virtual attendance.
Harassment and inappropriate behaviour
We are committed to ensuring that all participants can engage in a respectful and inclusive environment. Therefore, the conference has adopted a zero-tolerance position in relation to harassment and inappropriate behaviour that demeans, intimidates, or threatens others, be it professional, physical, emotional, or sexual. This includes harassment based on differing opinions regarding assisted dying. All attendees are expected to engage in respectful discourse at all times. Differing views on assisted dying are anticipated, and it is essential that all participants treat one another with courtesy and respect.
We are committed to creating a supportive environment where open dialogue and the exchange of ideas can occur without fear of hostility or discrimination. Attendees should feel safe to express their views and perspectives. Attendees are encouraged to engage constructively, listen actively, and respond thoughtfully to differing opinions. Personal attacks, inflammatory remarks, and derogatory comments will not be tolerated.
Any incidents of harassment or inappropriate behaviour should be reported immediately to conference staff. All reports will be taken seriously and addressed promptly to maintain a respectful and professional atmosphere. Violations of this policy may result in the removal of the offending party from the conference and potential legal action.
Safety rules for service users and families
- Personal information shared during the conference must remain confidential. Participants should refrain from sharing any personal details without consent.
- Psychological and emotional support is available for individuals who may find the discussion distressing or triggering. Please ask for Dr Aida Dehkhoda at the venue or contact her at aida.dehkhoda@vuw.ac.nz or 04 887 3140 for this support.
- Designated quiet areas are available at the venue for those needing a break from the conference environment.
Safety rules for clinicians
- Clinicians must adhere to professional conduct guidelines at all times. This includes respect for colleagues, service users, and their families.
- Maintain strict confidentiality regarding patient information and discussions held within the conference.
- Ensure that all service users and families are fully informed and have consented for any discussions or activities involving their personal information.
- All discussions and activities should be conducted with the highest ethical standards, particularly given the sensitive nature of assisted dying.
- As much as possible, all communications should be clear and free from technical jargon. It’s important that everyone fully understands the information being shared.
- Psychological and emotional support is available for individuals who may find the discussion distressing or triggering. Please ask for Dr Aida Dehkhoda at the venue or contact her at aida.dehkhoda@vuw.ac.nz or 04 887 3140 for this support.
- Designated quiet areas are available at the venue for those needing a break from the conference environment.
Travel and accommodation
If you're booking travel and accommodation to attend an event, it is important that it can be refunded or transferred in the event of postponement or cancellation. The conference will not be held responsible for any costs incurred.