Vic assisted dying laws head to parliament

Divisive assisted dying laws are set to be introduced to Victorian parliament after months of drafting.

The Andrews Labor government has indicated it will enter the bill, which includes all 68 safeguards suggested by an expert panel, on Wednesday.

The laws will set out a rigorous request and assessment process, accessible only to the terminally ill, and include new criminal offences.

Only adults with less than 12 months to live and who have the mental capacity to request assistance will be allowed to access the scheme.

They will have to make three clear, self-initiated requests and have two independent medical assessments.

Doctors who raise the issue to a patient will be subject to misconduct investigations.

Should the bill pass after a conscience vote, which is expected to take place before parliament rises in 2017, there will be an 18-month implementation period.

The bill's introduction comes amid already passionate debate from both sides.

On Tuesday, former Victorian Australian Medical Association presidents Stephen Parnis, Mukesh Haikerwal and Mark Yates met with MPs to lobby against the proposed scheme.

"You cannot make this safe, that the safeguards that they've put in place, you could drive a truck through," Dr Parnis said.

Dr Yates said the draft laws reflect the community's inability to deal with death, rather than the ability for medical professionals to deliver palliative care with better funding.

The AMA on Tuesday issued a statement reinforcing that while the three men were once state presidents and are entitled to their personal views, the organisation's stance on assisted dying has changed since their tenures.

The AMA's current position on assisted dying is that if a government decides to change laws, the medical profession must be involved to develop protections for doctors, vulnerable patients and those who do not wish to participate.

Right-to-die campaigners last week released a confronting video re-enacting the final days of a Victorian cancer suffered called Stop The Horror.

The proposed legislation has attracted mixed support among MPs.

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Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.

MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.