Voluntary assisted dying has been made legal in New South Wales as it becomes the last state in Australia to pass legislation to allow terminally ill adults to choose to end their lives.
The legislation passed the Lower House of parliament, after a vote to accept the amendments from the Upper House.
The Upper House spent 10 hours debating amendments before a final vote of support 23 to 15.
It will take up to 18 months for the laws to come into effect as new systems and an oversight body is put in place.
All MPs were given a conscience vote. NSW was the last state to legalise voluntary assisted dying.
The campaign to legalise voluntary assisted dying has also been fronted by many who lost loved ones, who suffered great pain in their final days.
For Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst, the bill's passing had personal significance.
"Last year, I spent many hours next to my father who was in hospital, and he asked about this piece of legislation," she said.
"He made it very clear to us that he would have chosen a safe and dignified death if that choice had been available to him, but it wasn't."
"I know there are so many others that went through the same thing as my family did, waiting for this piece of legislation."
Independent MP Alex Greenwich, who introduced the bill to parliament, said "compassion has won".
However, Mr Greenwich says the fight to allow access to voluntary assisted dying in Australia is far from over.
"Soon now, our focus must shift to the federal parliament," he said.
"It's incumbent on our colleagues, and federal parliament, to pass laws to allow the territories to be able to legislate for this compassionate law reform."
Penny Hackett, from Dying with Dignity NSW, echoed the call for federal government action.
"Whichever party wins federal government this Saturday, we would call on them to overturn the legislation that prevents people in the territories from having the fundamental right to self-determination," she said.
"It's a denial of democracy, and they shouldn't be treated as second-class citizens in their own country."
New South Wales MPs debated nearly 100 amendments on Wednesday in a sitting that lasted until midnight.
The government requested for the house to sit past its mandated 12am shutdown, but Robert Borsak, from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party — who is also an opponent of the bill — objected.
The majority of the amendments were voted down during the debate, including the push to give aged and residential homes the power to block voluntary assisted dying taking place in their facilities.
Debate resumed this morning before the bill passed through the Legislative Council about midday.
It was then approved by the lower house just before 1pm.
Liberal Damien Tudehope, the Leader of the government in the Legislative Council, spoke against the bill.
Mr Tudehope told the upper house he would "leave here today thinking this is a dark day for our state" if the laws were passed.
FamilyVoice Australia's state director, Greg Bondar, said the bill had been rejected by all major faith organisations and sent the wrong message to those contemplating suicide, "particularly the young, elderly and lonely".
"MPs have failed to to adopt their ethical and religious conscience in opposing this bill," he said.
Scott Riddle, who is suffering from stage-four cancer, says the law passing brings "tremendous peace of mind".
"When you get a bad diagnosis, there's a lot of things to be afraid of," he said.
"One of the things that you don't need to be afraid of [is] the way you're going to die.
"I just feel a huge amount of relief today because this reform, will give us that choice."
Siobhan O'Sullivan, who is terminally ill with ovarian cancer, says she hopes voluntary assisted dying is rolled out quickly.
"I would like to see New South Wales Health professionals and public servants now act extremely quickly to establish and enact and give real meaning to these laws," Ms O'Sullivan said.
"I could well be another person who dies waiting if we don't actually make this law into an active piece of compassionate working legislation speedily."
