Palliative Care Australia

20/10/2026

A great start to the Palliative Care NSW 2026 State Conference! 🧡

Yesterday, PCA's Kate Ritchie and Chelsea Menchin led a successful pre-conference workshop, From Standards to Practice: Exploring the National Palliative Care Standards with PaCSA.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for an engaging session!

The PCA team is continuing to connect with colleagues from across the sector at the conference today and tomorrow!

🎤 Coming up tomorrow – Wednesday 21 October, 10:45am

PCA's Annette Vickery will present Caring Together: Co-designing a Culturally Safe Paediatric Palliative Care Resource, sharing insights into the development of resources that support more accessible and culturally safe paediatric palliative care.

We're proud to support Palliative Care NSW in bringing the sector together to share knowledge, strengthen connections and explore opportunities to improve palliative care.

👋 If you're attending, come and say hello to the PCA team!

20/10/2026

How can we better support children and young people experiencing grief across their learning journey?

Registrations are open for Good grief, this hurts! – a free annual educational event from Quality of Care Collaborative Australia (QuoCCA).

This year’s webinar will explore grief across learning environments, from childcare through to university, and practical ways adults can support grieving children and young people.

📅 Thursday 19 November 2026
⏰ 10:00am–12:00pm AEST
💻 Free online webinar

Register today: https://www.stickytickets.com.au/ndxfed/2026_good_grief_this_hurts__when_learning_meets_loss.aspx

10:00 AM Thu 19 Nov at Online - Webinar, , . Good grief, this hurts ! is a free , annual educational event aimed at building community capacity and practical awareness about grief, loss, death, and bereavement as experienced by children and youn...

17/10/2026

We're looking forward to joining Palliative Care NSW for its 2026 State Conference in Sydney next week!

To kick things off, PCA's Kate Ritchie and Chelsea Menchin will lead a pre-conference workshop exploring how services can put the National Palliative Care Standards into everyday practice.

From Standards to Practice: Exploring the National Palliative Care Standards with PaCSA

The workshop will introduce the Palliative Care Self-Assessment (PaCSA) tool, supporting participants to reflect on current practice, recognise strengths and identify opportunities for improvement.

Through practical activities and group discussions, participants will explore how the Standards can guide quality improvement across different care settings.

📅 Monday 19 October | 1:15–2:45 pm
📍 Sydney Masonic Centre

We're excited to connect with colleagues from across the sector and support Palliative Care NSW in bringing the palliative care community together to share knowledge, experiences and ideas.

Attending the conference? We'd love to see you at the workshop!

Find out more about the workshop and conference: https://pcnswconference.org.au/pre-conference-workshops-panels/

17/10/2026

Caring for carers is part of quality palliative care. 🧡

Supporting someone with a life-limiting illness can involve many different responsibilities – from providing practical and emotional support to navigating conversations, appointments and care.

It’s important that carers have access to information and support for themselves, as well as guidance to help them in their caring role.

As National Carers Week draws to a close, we’re sharing PCA’s resources for families and carers. Find practical guidance on supporting someone with a life-limiting illness, looking after yourself and knowing what to expect near the end of life.

Explore PCA’s information for carers: https://bit.ly/4xVqNk8

16/10/2026

Missed our latest deep dive into the National Palliative Care Standards? The recording of our Community of Practice webinar on Standard Three: Caring for Carers is now available to watch on demand.

Held during National Carers Week, the webinar explored how we can better recognise, understand and support the needs of carers throughout palliative care.

Our panellists shared practical insights into recognising carers' individual needs, supporting their wellbeing and ensuring their perspectives are considered in care planning and decision-making.

The discussion highlighted the importance of recognising carers as individuals with their own support needs and embedding meaningful carer support into everyday palliative care practice.

Thank you to our panellists Andrea Salmon (MND Victoria), Jayne Littledike (Dementia Australia) and Mary Muzorewa (Continuum Aged Care Clinical Services) for sharing their insights and experience.

🎥 Watch the recording: https://palliativecare.org.au/national-palliative-care-standards/palliative-care-self-assessment-pacsa-for-specialist-teams/caring-for-carers/

15/10/2026

A welcome milestone for children and families in Western Australia🧡

PCA welcomes the official opening of Sandcastles (Boodja Mia), WA’s first children’s hospice.

Preparing to welcome its first families, Sandcastles will offer specialist palliative care, respite, end-of-life care and bereavement support in a space designed to feel like home.

This is a step towards the goal outlined in Action 2.5 of the Paediatric Palliative Care National Action Plan: comprehensive, multidisciplinary specialist paediatric palliative care across all jurisdictions.

Congratulations to Perth Children's Hospital Foundation, the Child and Adolescent Health Service, and the families and supporters who helped make Sandcastles possible.

Learn about Sandcastles:
https://pchf.org.au/sandcastles-childrens-hospice/

Explore the National Action Plan:
https://paediatricpalliativecare.org.au/resource/the-paediatric-palliative-care-national-action-plan/

15/10/2026

Some of the most important conversations can also be the hardest to have.

Great to see Nurse Practitioner Kate Reed-Cox highlighting the importance of early conversations about end-of-life care, what matters most to people and the choices available to them.

Thanks to Palliative Care ACT for sharing this story. 🧡

Nurse Practitioner of the Year Kate Reed-Cox is changing how people approach end-of-life care. She talks to DHWANI PATHAK.

15/10/2026

It's not too late to join us for our National Palliative Care Standards Community of Practice webinar exploring Standard Three: Caring for Carers.

As we recognise National Carers Week, it's a timely opportunity to reflect on how we can better recognise, understand and support the needs of carers throughout palliative care.

Join us this afternoon to hear practical insights from speakers representing MND Victoria, Dementia Australia and Continuum Aged Care Clinical Services, as they explore approaches to supporting carers' wellbeing and embedding carer support into everyday practice.

📅 Today, Thursday 15 October
🕑 2:00pm – 3:00pm AEDT

There's still time to register! 👇

https://events.humanitix.com/webinar-standard-three-caring-for-carers

14/10/2026

More ways to be recognised in the 2027 Live Well, Die Well Art Prize 🎨

Presented by Palliative Care Australia and the Arcare Family Foundation, this year’s Art Prize features an expanded $30,000 prize pool, creating more opportunities for artists to be recognised and rewarded.

Prizes include Overall Winner, Highly Commended, First Nations Artist, Emerging Artist, Artist Living with a Disability and People’s Choice, as well as dedicated awards for Primary School and Secondary School students.

Artists of all ages and backgrounds are invited to explore the theme ‘Conversations about end of life’ through visual art.

Entries close on 11 January 2027.

👉 Explore the categories, prizes and eligibility: https://livewell.awardsplatform.com/

14/10/2026

Family, kinship, community and culture can be central to caring for someone with a life-limiting illness. 🧡

For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, family and community are an important part of the palliative care and end-of-life care journey.

National Carers Week is an opportunity to recognise the role of First Nations families and carers, and the importance of culturally appropriate information and support that reflects their needs and experiences.

caring@home provides resources specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families to support them in caring for someone receiving palliative care at home.

Explore the caring@home resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families: https://bit.ly/3Tua9tK