This National Palliative Care Week, Australians are invited to start conversation, raise awareness, and advocate for better access to and acceptance of palliative and end-of-life care. The 2026 campaign, Getting to the heart of it. Big Questions. Real Answers, empowers earlier conversations and connecting people to trusted information, tools and support.
Starting a conversation about palliative care early gives you time to ask questions, understand your options and plan for what matters most. It is better to talk sooner than to have choices narrowed when time is shorter.
Seventy-three per cent of Australians say they are open to talking about advance care planning, yet only one third (33%) have undertaken any form of advance care planning (Advance Care Planning Australia 2025).
Help spread the word and continue to build a better understanding of palliative and end-of-life care:
- Download and share campaign resources: www.palliativecare.org.au
- Promote NPC Week 2026 through your organisation’s communication channels
- Encourage conversations about palliative care.
For healthcare professionals
- Care Workers Supporting End-of-Life Care at Home webinar, Thursday 7 May 1pm
- Hume Region: Palliative care in residential aged care summit, Wednesday 13 May 9am-1pm
- Rethinking Dementia and End-of-Life Care guest lecture, Thursday 14 May 12.30pm
- Palliative Care Victoria summit, Friday 15 May 9am-6pm
Updated resources
- palliMEDS app – 2026 version now available. The essential app for primary care prescribers supporting palliative care patients, now featuring paediatric palliative medicine prescribing information and a weight-based dose calculator.
- Supporting advance care planning in general practice: Guidance on the use of Medicare Benefits Schedule Items – Designed to support GPs, practice nurses and primary care teams to incorporate advance care planning into routine clinical care.
- Caring@home community palliative care resources – Support for families and carers
- Self-care matters – for aged care workers
- Referral pathways, clinical guidance and resources for palliative care
Workshops to help navigate life-changing illnesses
Through Murray PHN’s The Caring Circle palliative care project, a series of free community workshops with The Good2Go Project are being supported to help individuals who are facing a life-changing illness and those who support them to navigate care with confidence. Click here for details and to register.