Vasectomies are legal--even in Queensland

Consent by patients to voluntary sterilization frees surgeons from criminal responsibility for assault when such consent is given freely with the knowledge of the purpose and consequence of the procedure, and when the operation is performed with professional skill. However, it is considered unethical for surgeons to sterilize a married man or woman of child-bearing age unless they have satisfied themselves that the other party to the marriage has consented to the procedure.