The late Nia Sims, a former Albion resident has been posthumously awarded a medal for the Order of Australia (OAM), in recognition of her tireless efforts to legalise voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in Victoria.
Ms Sims was an active member in the health community, serving as a registered nurse for 14 years alongside her work as a strong advocate for VAD.
Ms Sims was chronically ill, living with a rare autoimmune disease called scleroderma, a disease of the body’s connective tissue which carries a common symptom of thickened and hard skin.
At the political peak of the VAD campaign in 2017, Ms Sims worked with the team at Go Gentle Australia, a charity dedicated to achieving end-of-life choice for all Australians. Together they produced the short film ‘Stop the Horror’ based on the death of Ms Sims’ father who died after suffering in anguish for days in his hospital bed.
Ms Sims died in 2022 through VAD, and was honoured on the King’s Birthday holiday with an OAM for her service to community health. Her mother, Robyn said it was “bittersweet” to have the medal awarded in her absence.
“I was really pleased for her but I just wish she’d been around to know about it,” she said.
“She died on the 14th of June, it’s coming up to the anniversary. Those things will always be hard, it was a hard death, knowing what day and what time it would happen… it was not an easy thing for a parent to go through.”
Ms Sims’ devotion to the VAD campaign gained traction in the media and played a pivotal role in creating change. In 2017, Victoria became the first state in Australia to pass voluntary assisted dying laws which allowed people who are suffering and dying to choose the manner and timing of their death.
Hannah Hammoud
