Dr Eliana Close

Dr Eliana Close, Senior Research Fellow, Optimal Regulation of Voluntary Assisted Dying (ARC Future Fellowship research project)


Eliana CloseThe 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

Close, Eliana, Willmott, Lindy, White, Ben (2022) Voluntary assisted dying: peak bodies must provide practical guidance. Internal Medicine Journal, 52 (6), pp.926-931.
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Better Regulation of End‑Of‑Life Care: A Call For A Holistic Approach

White, Ben, Willmott, Lindy, Close, Eliana (2022) Better Regulation of End‑Of‑Life Care: A Call For A Holistic Approach. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry.
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Voluntary assisted dying and telehealth: Commonwealth carriage service laws are putting clinicians at risk

Close, Eliana, Del Villar, Katrine, Willmott, Lindy, White, Ben (2021) Voluntary assisted dying and telehealth: Commonwealth carriage service laws are putting clinicians at risk. Medical Journal of Australia, 215 (9), pp.406-409.
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Regulating voluntary assisted dying practice: A policy analysis from Victoria, Australia

Close, Eliana, Willmott, Lindy, White, Ben (2021) Regulating voluntary assisted dying practice: A policy analysis from Victoria, Australia. Health Policy, 125 (11), pp.1455-1474.
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Voluntary assisted dying and the legality of using a telephone or internet service

Del Villar, Katrine, Close, Eliana, Hews, Rachel, Willmott, Lindy, White, Ben (2022) Voluntary assisted dying and the legality of using a telephone or internet service : The impact of Commonwealth ‘Carriage Service’ offences. Monash University Law Review, 47 (1), pp.125-173.

Transparent triage policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: a critical part of medico-legal risk management for clinicians

Close, Eliana, Willmott, Lindy, Cockburn, Tina, Young, Simon, Cairns, Will, White, Ben (2021) Transparent triage policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: a critical part of medico-legal risk management for clinicians. Medical Journal of Australia, 215 (2), pp.71-74.e1.
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Legal Challenges to ICU Triage Decisions in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Close, Eliana, Young, Simon, Cockburn, Tina, Willmott, Lindy, White, Ben (2021) Legal Challenges to ICU Triage Decisions in the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Effectively Does the Law Regulate Bedside Rationing Decisions in Australia?. University of New South Wales Law Journal, 44 (1), pp.9-59.
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Development of voluntary assisted dying training in Victoria, Australia: A model for consideration

White, Ben, Willmott, Lindy, Close, Eliana, Hewitt, Jayne, Meehan, Rebecca, Ley Greaves, Laura, Parker, Malcolm, Yates, Patsy (2021) Development of voluntary assisted dying training in Victoria, Australia: A model for consideration. Journal of Palliative Care, 36 (3), pp.162-167.
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Legislative Options to Address Institutional Objections to Voluntary Assisted Dying in Australia

White, Ben, Willmott, Lindy, Close, Eliana, Downie, Jocelyn (2021) Legislative Options to Address Institutional Objections to Voluntary Assisted Dying in Australia. University of New South Wales Law Journal Forum, 2021 (3), pp.Article number: 3 1-19.

Doctors' perceptions of how resource limitations relate to futility in end-of-life decision making: a qualitative analysis

Close, Eliana, White, Ben, Willmott, Lindy, Gallois, Cindy, Parker, Malcolm, Graves, Nicholas, Winch, Sarah (2019) Doctors' perceptions of how resource limitations relate to futility in end-of-life decision making: a qualitative analysis. Journal of Medical Ethics, 45 (6), pp.373-379.
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Additional outputs by Eliana Close

Who gets care if hospitals become overwhelmed?

Hosted by Dr Norman Swan with guests Dr Peter Saul, Dr Eliana Close and Dr Will Cairns (2021) Who gets care if hospitals become overwhelmed?. ABC Radio National.

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

Presented by Richelle Hunt and Nic Healey (2023) Should people living with dementia be eligible for voluntary assisted dying?. ABC Radio Melbourne.

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MJA Podcast: the importance of clear triage protocols

Dr Eliana Close with Cate Swannell (2021) MJA Podcast: the importance of clear triage protocols. The Medical Journal of Australia podcast.

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

Eliana Close, Ben White, Lindy Willmott, Simon Young, Tina Cockburn, Will Cairns (2021) If COVID hospitalisations increase, it’s still not clear how patients will be prioritised for ICU beds. The Conversation.

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Submissions by Eliana Close

Submission to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario for its Medical Assistance in Dying Policy

Close, Eliana, White, Ben, Willmott, Lindy, Jeanneret, Ruthie (2021) Submission to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario for its Medical Assistance in Dying Policy

Submission to the Inquiry into the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021

Close, Eliana (2021) Submission to the Inquiry into the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021

Contact

  • Dr Eliana Close

    Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Business and Law

    Dr Eliana Close is a Senior Research Fellow in the Australian Centre for Health Law Research at the Faculty of Business and Law, Queensland University of Technology. She is currently leading a Canadian Case Study as part of the Australian Research Council Future Fellowship, Enhancing end-of-life decision-making: Optimal regulation of voluntary assisted...