On Thursday the voluntary assisted dying bill passed the lower house of parliament, after it voted to accept amendments from the upper house - amendments the upper house spent around ten hours debating over two days.

All members of parliament were given a conscience vote on the matter, with a final vote of support 23 to 15 given in the upper house.

The vote makes NSW the final state to introduce assisted dying laws, after the matter was first debated in state parliament twenty years ago.

Wagga-based voluntary assisted dying advocate and Dying with Dignity NSW member Geoff Burch said it was a huge relief to see the "just, empathetic" bill pass after such a long-running campaign.

"When [the debate is] finally concluded it's just elation for everyone that's fought so hard," he said.

Wagga MLC Wes Fang chaired an inquiry into the bill and presided over a number of debates throughout the process, and said it was a "privilege" to be part of passing a bill that "will make a real difference in people's lives across NSW".

"I think the bill was robust [and] I think the safeguards were appropriate," he said.

The voluntary assisted dying bill was introduced by independent MP Alex Greenwich last year along with 28 co-sponsors after a series of previous bills were defeated.

The marathon debate in the upper house saw 92 late amendments brought forward on Wednesday, with debate continuing until midnight. Mr Fang said he and others had hoped the debate would wrap up that night, but it was "unfortunately" was pushed into Thursday morning after a Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP objected to continuing.

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The majority of amendments were voted down, including a push to allow aged care and residential homes to block voluntary assisted dying from taking place in their facilities. The bill eventually passed the upper house just after 12.30pm on Thursday and went back to the lower house for its final approval just before 1pm.

"I've been fortunate the whole way along to have been a party of the passage of the bill," Mr Fang said.

"I think the lengthy consideration of the bill ... is a testament to the parliament's ability to review but ultimately pass legislation that will make a real difference in peoples lives across NSW."

Mr Burch, whose wife Sue passed away in May last year after a years-long battle with cancer, said the bill is all about providing people with personal choice.

"You can now decide that I don't want my death to be a drawn out, painful process," he said.

"When we're talking about people who don't have a choice about life, it's been taken away from them ... now they have the choice to have some control over that. That's a big relief."

Mr Burch said although it's unfortunate there is an 18-month implementation period for the law, but is grateful "we know now there's a deadline".

Wagga MP Dr Joe McGirr, who voted against the bill when it went through the lower house in November last year, responded to today's announcement by advocating for increased palliative care services.

"During debate on the bill in November 2021, I successfully put forward an amendment, which includes, in the principles of the bill, equality of access to palliative care, in addition to voluntary assisted dying, for rural and regional people," he said.

"Throughout this debate, there has been strong support for increasing access to palliative care in NSW, especially in regional and rural NSW."

Dr McGirr said he will "continue to hold the Government accountable on this issue" after the Premier previously indicated a commitment to making the state's palliative care the best possible.

"Improving palliative care in regional areas should be a priority for the new regional health division," he added.

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