“Nobody Knows” – supporting sector preparedness for palliative and end-of-life care
By Meredith Elton, Project Coordinator, Social Strategy and Service Delivery at Social Futures.
Nationwide, Dying to Know Day will be observed on Friday 8th August. This year’s theme, “Nobody Knows” highlights the importance of supporting open and honest end-of-life (EOL) conversations and ensuring that a person’s EOL wishes and values are known and documented.
A recent study commissioned by Advance Care Planning Australia highlights a widespread lack of preparation for critical medical decisions with only one in three Australians having taken steps to plan for their future health care. Considering that “aged care has a crucial role to play in enabling Advance Care Planning discussions with older people” and that the new Aged Care Act emphasises palliative and EOL care as “core business” in aged care – what is yours to do in supporting Advance Care Planning and palliative and EOL care more broadly?
The new Aged Care Act aims to ensure that all individuals in aged care receive person-centered, dignified, and compassionate palliative and end-of-life care, with support for them and their loved ones throughout the process.
The Strengthened Standards detail the requirement for providers to have systems and processes for advance care planning that support individuals to discuss future medical treatment and care needs and to support the completion and review of advance care planning documents, if and when the individual chooses. Although the Standards will not apply to all aged care providers, they provide important guidance for continuity and best practice across the sector. It is important to note that while the new Aged Care Act provides a national framework, the specifics of ACP legislation and documents can vary between states and territories.
A big change for the in-home aged care sector is the new End-of-life Pathway under Support at Home. This Pathway provides up to $25,000 funding for home care services over a 12-week period (extended to 16wks if funding remains) and is designed for individuals with an estimated 3 months or less to live, as advised by a doctor or nurse practitioner, and who also have an Australian-modified Karnofsky Performance Status (AKPS) score of 40 or less. Section 15 of the Support at Home Manual provides more information about the EOL Pathway.
With the single provider model that will come into effect under Support at Home, is your organisation adequately prepared to deliver the EOL Pathway, or do you have strong referral relationships in place to ensure a smooth and speedy transition in care? Many people and organisations provide care and support to people approaching and reaching the end of their life. Doctors, nurses, allied health workers and other staff deliver end-of-life and specialist palliative care services across a range of settings and locations. How connected is your service?
There are great resources available to support you and your organisation to contribute to sector preparedness. If you haven’t already, make time to get familiar with the excellent resources provided by ELDAC (End of Life Directions for Aged Care) and PalliAGED.
And there are some great events coming up to support learning and relationships for a more connected and educated sector:
International Advance Care Planning Conference 2025, 24 to 26 September 2025, Yugambeh Country Gold Coast, Australia. Register here.
Oceanic Palliative Care Conference 2025 – Connecting Systems for Better Care, 12-12 September, Brisbane. Register here.