The only jurisdiction in Australia disallowing voluntary assisted dying is set to approve it after a parliamentary committee ruled in favour of reinstating laws struck down 30 years ago.
The Northern Territory became the first Australian jurisdiction to make voluntary euthanasia legal in 1995, but the laws were quickly overturned by the Howard government.
All six states and the ACT have since passed their own laws allowing it.
Acting NT Chief Minister Gerard Maley said a legal and constitutional affairs committee report and proposed drafting instructions would be tabled on the next sitting day for debate.
"The attorney-general will now progress drafting of voluntary assisted dying legislation to bring to the legislative assembly, he said in a statement on Wednesday.
Broadcaster and media personality Andrew Denton, a long-time campaigner for VAD, said the original 1995 legislation was a "remarkable first" for the NT and he welcomed the proposed new laws.
"I had someone I loved who died badly. That was my dad Kit," he told ABC Radio in Darwin.
He said his father was in hospital with congestive heart failure and other conditions and the staff did their best.
"For three days it was horrible to watch and it traumatised us."
Denton said years later he decided to address why "good people in Australia are dying bad deaths".
He set up the charity Go Gentle and began campaigning for VAD legislation.
In 2023, then-NT chief minister Natasha Fyles said a panel had been formed to begin developing a voluntary assisted dying framework for the territory and oversee community consultations.
She said the framework would prioritise safety, ethics and appropriate safeguards to protect individuals and practitioners.
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