The Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 passed by the Australian Commonwealth Government forbad the territories of the ACT (Australian Capital Territory), Northern Territory and Norfolk Island from making laws that permit or have the effect of permitting voluntary euthanasia (note that the Act itself did not actually mention the word `voluntary').

Michael Moore (an independent member of the ACT's Legislative Assembly), together with the "pro-choice" groups, is looking for loopholes in the Act. One possibility is that the legislation could be amended so that there would be a sliding scale for assisted 
suicide. At the voluntary euthanasia end, it would involve 3 months imprisonment but, at the discretion of the Director of Public Prosecutions, only a penalty of $50.  This is definitely not ideal from a "pro-choice" viewpoint - currently medical personnel are facing a maximum 10 years imprisonment - but as there is little possibility of enacting legislation, it was seen by some as the best option.

But the ACT Attorney-General noticed that the Commonwealth's Euthanasia Laws Act may impact on the ACT's passive euthanasia legislation, although that was not the intention of those who drafted the Act (who did not want active 
voluntary euthanasia). The Attorney-General has thus directed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) not to prosecute those doctors who practise passive voluntary euthanasia (including assisting with 
pain relief even though it may consequentially hasten death). 

The corollary to this is that it is theoretically possible for the Legislative Assembly to have the Attorney-General direct the DPP not to prosecute medical personnel who assist patients with active voluntary euthanasia. The ACT would not be enacting legislation, so it would not violate the Commonwealth's Euthanasia Laws Act. 
It would produce a similar situation to that in the Netherlands, where 

Death is often called the ultimate taboo, yet students are now queuing up to study the subject in more depth. 
For the first time, the University of Reading is introducing a one year's masters degree called "Death and 
Society". 

The aim of the course is to explore how societies around the world, both past and present, have handled and ritualised death and dying. 
"Half a million people die every year in the UK alone, and so we have half a million bodies to get rid of, and about three times that many people's bereavement to cope with," said Tony Walter, the course director. 
The university claims that far from being taboo, death is one of the most talked about topics in today's society. 
This is partly because of the way genocide continues to characterise many international conflicts, but also because of debates such as the one surrounding euthanasia. 

Dr Walter believes that recently there has been a move to bring discussion about death more into the open. 
He sees the extraordinary public outpouring after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, as an indication of the level of interest in grief and dying.

"The way a society chooses to handle death doesn't work for everyone," he said. Dr Walter said that people are naturally curious about death. "In the last century almost everyone had seen the death of a family member or someone. But now most of us haven't seen it. People are naturally curious," he said. 

The University is hoping the new course will satisfy a growing interest in death, and appeal to people in the caring professions as well as those in the academic world. 

According to polls, over 75% of ACT voters support active voluntary 
euthanasia.