Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hit out at the ban on assisted dying laws in the Northern Territory and ACT, signalling he is likely to support a private members’ bill to overturn the Howard-era prohibition in coming weeks.

Government MPs will be granted a conscience vote as soon as this month on ending the Andrews Bill, the 1997 legislation that barred the territories from legalising euthanasia, originally championed by former minister and Liberal MP Kevin Andrews.