Dr Eliana Close, Senior Research Fellow, Optimal Regulation of Voluntary Assisted Dying (ARC Future Fellowship research project)
‘The decisions that we make as we approach the end of our lives not only affect us and our families, but the community as a whole.
There are a range of complex legal, ethical, and practical challenges as society grapples with rapidly advancing medical technologies, novel pandemics, and new end-of-life choices. To address these challenges, we need fair and transparent regulatory structures to support high-quality and consistent end-of-life decision-making.
My research strives to develop forward-thinking laws and policies that support and empower people to have a good death. Death is an integral part of what it means to be human, and I want to see discourse about it become a normal part of everyday life.‘
Dr Eliana Close is a Senior Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Business and Law at QUT. Her research targets the legal and ethical dilemmas that arise in response to the changing landscape of death and dying, with a particular focus on decision making in critical care, health rationing, and voluntary assisted dying. Eliana’s areas of expertise include health regulation, policy analysis, and qualitative socio-legal research.
Eliana is currently leading a Canadian case study as part of Professor Ben White’s Australian Research Council Future Fellowship Project, Enhancing End-of-Life Decision Making: Optimal Regulation of Voluntary Assisted Dying (2020-2024). She was a key contributor to the voluntary assisted dying training programs for practitioners in Victoria, Western Australia, and Queensland, and her research was influential in recent law reforms across the country.
Eliana is a member of the Queensland Children’s Hospital Clinical Ethics Consultation Service, which provides ethical consultation for treating teams and a collaborative forum for case discussion around specific clinical ethical issues. Previously she worked as a Crown Prosecutor in Canada and as a management consultant at Google in Silicon Valley. Eliana was awarded her Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) from the University of Calgary, and holds an MA in Law from Oxford University, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. Eliana received QUT’s Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award for her PhD on health rationing and non-beneficial treatment at the end of life, which was funded by the QUT’s NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in End of Life Care.
Journal articles by Eliana Close
Voluntary assisted dying: peak bodies must provide practical guidance
citations on Web of Science
citations on Scopus
Better Regulation of End‑Of‑Life Care: A Call For A Holistic Approach
citations on Scopus
Voluntary assisted dying and telehealth: Commonwealth carriage service laws are putting clinicians at risk
2 citations on Web of Science
1 citations on Scopus
Regulating voluntary assisted dying practice: A policy analysis from Victoria, Australia
1 citations on Web of Science
1 citations on Scopus
Voluntary assisted dying and the legality of using a telephone or internet service
Transparent triage policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: a critical part of medico-legal risk management for clinicians
2 citations on Web of Science
3 citations on Scopus
Legal Challenges to ICU Triage Decisions in the COVID-19 Pandemic
2 citations on Web of Science
2 citations on Scopus
Development of voluntary assisted dying training in Victoria, Australia: A model for consideration
6 citations on Web of Science
9 citations on Scopus
Legislative Options to Address Institutional Objections to Voluntary Assisted Dying in Australia
Doctors' perceptions of how resource limitations relate to futility in end-of-life decision making: a qualitative analysis
11 citations on Web of Science
13 citations on Scopus
Additional outputs by Eliana Close
Who gets care if hospitals become overwhelmed?

Should people living with dementia be eligible for voluntary assisted dying?

MJA Podcast: the importance of clear triage protocols

If COVID hospitalisations increase, it’s still not clear how patients will be prioritised for ICU beds
