Palliative Care Australia

13/06/2026

At the PCNA Biennial Conference 2026 in Adelaide yesterday, Palliative Care Australia's (PCA) Kate Ritchie presented on strengthening quality improvement through the updated National Palliative Care Standards and Palliative Care Self-Assessment (PaCSA) tool.

Kate explored the rationale behind PCA's updated Quality Improvement Suite and demonstrated how the revised standards and self-assessment tools can support accreditation processes, drive service innovation and foster collaboration across diverse care settings.

By transforming standards into practical, actionable tools, these resources help services embed continuous quality improvement into everyday practice.

Want to learn more? Explore PCA's recently refreshed National Palliative Care Standards webpage, which brings together key quality improvement resources to support the delivery of safe, effective and person-centred palliative and end-of-life care across Australia: https://ow.ly/UiXN50Zbpo8

13/06/2026

A new National Model for Clinical Governance (national model) will support public and private hospitals to deliver better outcomes for patients amid mounting pressures on the health system.

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care developed the national model to provide contemporary, best practice governance guidance for acute health services including day hospitals - supporting them to build the organisational culture, systems and structures to enable members of the workforce to deliver high-quality care, every day.

Read more: https://ow.ly/YNrZ50ZbpnO

13/06/2026

Congratulations to Dr Fiona Boyd OAM, recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours for her service to general and palliative care medicine.

Dr Boyd has made a significant contribution to palliative care over more than three decades, including as a consultant at Toronto Private Hospital since 1992, alongside her ongoing work as a GP and medical student supervisor.

We thank Dr Boyd for her dedication to patients, families, medical education and the palliative care sector.

𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠’𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬

A heartfelt congratulations to 𝐃𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐝 𝐎𝐀𝐌 who has been recognised for her 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞. For decades, Fiona has provided care to patients and families across the Newcastle region. From her long-standing roles at Toronto Private Hospital and Calvary Mater Newcastle, to mentoring medical students and serving the community as a GP since 1985, her contribution is significant.

𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞:
🔸𝐌𝐫𝐬 𝐉𝐨𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨 𝐎𝐀𝐌 honoured for her tireless work in bereavement support through The Compassionate Friends Australia and NSW. Her dedication has provided comfort and guidance to many families experiencing loss.
🔸𝐌𝐫𝐬 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐲𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐌 recognised for significant service to community health through cancer support. As Founder of Rare Cancers Australia, Kathryn has transformed patient advocacy and care for those facing rare cancers, both nationally and beyond.

To read more about these individuals in NSW and across the nation, please click here: https://www.gg.gov.au/kings-birthday-2026-honours-list

12/06/2026

The Palliative Care Australia Board and staff are deeply saddened by the passing of our valued colleague and friend Gretchen Irvine.

The palliative care community has lost a passionate, widely admired and formidable advocate. Gretchen made an enormous contribution to palliative care advocacy over many years, selflessly giving her time, expertise and energy until her passing to raise awareness of what people with life-limiting conditions need to live as well as possible for as long as possible.

From the point she was diagnosed in January, Gretchen’s instinct was to think of ways her story could be used to help others better understand what palliative care is, how it can help, and the importance of having open conversations about how to live well and plan for a good death.

Always with her sharp sense of humour, Gretchen continued sharing her opinions, guidance and ideas with PCA for her beloved conference. We will honour her and aim to do her work justice.

Every member of the PCA Board and staff sends their love, care and deepest sympathies to Gretchen’s loved ones. We particularly acknowledge Gretchen’s children Rory, Claire and Rosemary, and their partners, and her sister Bronwen for their incredible care and support for Gretchen throughout her illness.

Rest in peace Gretchen – all our love.

Palliative Care Australia

10/06/2026

Quality improvement is not always about starting from scratch.

“Importantly, we are also learning to celebrate the moments where practice has changed for the better, recognising when those changes align with and fulfil one or more of the National Palliative Care Standards.”

This reflection from the Nioka Palliative Care Unit is a powerful reminder that improvement can begin by recognising the good work already happening, connecting it to the Standards and using that insight to build momentum for further change.

To support this, we’ve updated the National Palliative Care Standards section of our website to make tools and resources easier to find and navigate.

Explore here: https://ow.ly/PSeT50Z9bQX

10/06/2026

When a person’s death is imminent, good end-of-life care ensures that the older person’s physical, psychological, spiritual and social needs are met.

Learn more about how to manage dying in home care with ELDAC - End of Life Directions for Aged Care: https://ow.ly/jaOE50Z4yc7

10/06/2026

Palliative care is a core part of quality care in residential aged care.

Palliative Care Australia welcomes the AMA's call for better access to coordinated GP care for aged care residents.

Strong GP involvement, advance care planning and access to palliative care help ensure residents receive care that reflects their goals, needs and preferences, while reducing avoidable hospital transfers.

Thank you to the AMA for highlighting this issue.

The AMA calls for significant reform and funding to put an end to Australians in aged care being unable to access timely and coordinated healthcare.

Our new position statement warns urgent action is needed to provide residential aged care residents with access to regular GP care. Current systematic failings in the aged care system prevent GPs from delivering ongoing effective care to their patients.

For our media release and position statement 👉🔗 https://bit.ly/4xiWLYl

09/06/2026

We’re pleased to share the refreshed National Palliative Care Standards section on the Palliative Care Australia website.

The updated section brings together key quality improvement resources to support the delivery of safe, effective and person-centred palliative and end-of-life care across Australia.

Whether you work in specialist palliative care, primary care, aged care, community care or another health setting, the Standards are designed to help services reflect on current practice, identify opportunities for improvement and strengthen care for people with life-limiting illness, their families and carers.

Explore here: https://palliativecare.org.au/national-palliative-care-standards/

09/06/2026

💬 "Cultural identity is treated as a core part of compassionate care, not an afterthought."

Australia is one of the world's most culturally diverse countries. 🌏 In this blog, Alessia Aielli, Project Officer at Palliative Care Australia, highlights Caring Together – An Introduction to Paediatric Palliative Care, a resource designed to support culturally safe conversations about paediatric palliative care. Co-designed with families and healthcare professionals🤝, the resource provides clear, accessible information about palliative care, the healthcare professionals involved, and families' rights to participate in care and decision-making.

Read the blog🔗 https://www.caresearch.com.au/About-Us/Newsroom/Palliative-Perspectives/Palliative-Perspectives-Blog-Details/ArtMID/17907/ArticleID/6652/Caring-Together-Supporting-culturally-safe-conversations-in-paediatric-palliative-care

09/06/2026

Palliative Care Australia (PCA) is looking forward to joining our member organisation, Palliative Care Nurses Australia Inc. (PCNA), at the PCNA Biennial Conference 2026 in Adelaide this week. PCA is proud to contribute to the program, with presentations from:

✨ Josh Fear, PCA National Policy Director – ‘Key System Challenges: A National Policy Update’
✨ Kate Ritchie, PCA Senior Project Officer – ‘Strengthening quality improvement through the updated National Palliative Care Standards and PaCSA tool’
✨ Alessia Aielli, PCA Project Officer – ‘Caring Together: Co-designing a culturally safe paediatric care resource’

PCA interim CEO, Simon Waring, will also be attending, and the PCA team will be at the exhibition booth throughout the conference.