Ballarat's Dr Mewett, who is part of the Health Department's implementation taskforce for the law, said health professionals are urged to continue treating patients nearing end-of-life as they normally would with the same care and respect.

"What the law does give is another end-of-life choice," Dr Mewett said. "People make lots of different end-of-life choices and this one is now legal, if appropriately assessed."

Medical centres contacted by The Courier, declined to comment on the preparedness of staff to handle patient enquiries. To date, about 100 doctors have undertaken mandatory, specialist training for the laws. About a third of those doctors are from regional Victoria.

Only the patient can raise the question under the law, which has strict eligibility criteria, but a doctor can object to helping.

Dr Mewett said people had begun asking him and other palliative care specialists for more information, particularly drawing closer to the law coming into effect, and it was likely many could be waiting to learn more. He said most who ask were not necessarily going to act on assisted dying but wanted to know their options.

"People have the right to demand to be assessed for voluntary assisted dying, they do not have the right to demand voluntary assisted dying," Dr Mewett said. "What they have is the right to come and discuss with doctors."

Click on the image below to read about Belinda's brave walk, so no-one need suffer like her mum

Deakin University end-of-life care experts say scrutiny around the voluntary assisted dying legislation offered an important chance to spark greater discussion about death and end-of-life care.

Health law expert Neera Bhatia said people were generally not comfortable with talking about death but ultimately it was something that united us all.

"I think a positive from the public debate around this new legislation is that it is making us think about death and end-of-life wishes more broadly," Dr Bhatia said.

"We all need to look at advance care planning as a way to control decisions about how we are cared for, because there are treatment choices we can all make.

"We must try to turn this conversation from voluntary assisted dying, which effects a very small proportion of society, to how we can all have control over our health and how we are cared for at all stages of our lives, not just at the end of life.

"It is a common misconception that advance care planning is for the elderly or the critically sick. We should be aiming for a healthcare system where it is common practice that general practitioners are discussing advance care planning with patients at routine medical appointments."

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