Every year Palliative Care Australia (PCA) commissions the National Palliative Care Community Survey as part of National Palliative Care Week. The survey explores community attitudes around palliative care, end-of-life, death and dying. PCA commissioned Pure Profile to undertake the 2021 survey. This report contains data relating to Australian residents.

Download the National Palliative Care Community Survey Snapshot here.

Key Findings

• Three quarters of Australians (76%) are likely to ask for palliative care for themselves or someone close to them if they have a serious, prolonged or terminal illness.
• Only four in ten Australians (39%) think a person can first ask for palliative care when they are first diagnosed with a terminal, chronic, or degenerative illness.
• Fewer than one third of Australians (31%) think that GPs can provide palliative care.
• The majority of Australians (88%) think it is important to start thinking and talking about their wishes and preferences for care if they were to become seriously or terminally ill. However, half (50%) have done nothing regarding their end-of-life-wishes.
• Respondents believe that talking about their preferences for the end of their life with their family will upset them (54%) and find the subject of death and planning for the end of their life too difficult to talk about (48%).

Media release: New campaign launches to challenge perceptions about palliative care

National Palliative Care Week 2021 will be held from Sunday 23 May – Saturday 29 May, with the theme “Palliative Care It’s more than you think.”, which seeks to raise awareness about the many benefits of quality palliative care. One of the great myths about palliative care is that it is only a synonym for end-of-life care. It is so much more than that.

National Palliative Care Week (NPCW) provides an opportunity to discuss the benefits of palliative care and celebrate the amazing dedication of all those working and volunteering in palliative care across Australia.