Palliative Care Australia (PCA) welcomes the appointments of the Hon. Mark Butler MP as the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon. Ged Kearney MP as the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care and the Hon. Anika Wells MP as the Minister for Aged Care and Sport under the new Albanese Labor Government Ministry.

CEO Camilla Rowland says PCA is looking forward to working with the Ministers to ensure the Australian community can experience better health and end-of-life outcomes by improving access to high-quality palliative care.

“We congratulate Mr Butler, Ms Kearney and Ms Wells on their positions in the Ministry and have always appreciated the collaborative approach Labor has taken in working with national peak bodies such as ours to deliver successful outcomes,” Ms Rowland said.

“We are eager to meet the Ministers and their teams of talented advisors to address the rising demand for palliative care, which has spiked during the pandemic.”

“High on the agenda is rectifying the chronic underinvestment in palliative care which is forcing the community to miss out on the care they desperately need and left the sector under-resourced and overstretched.”

As Australia’s older population grows and the number of people using aged care services increases, the demand for palliative care in aged care is also increasing.

PCA, together with the sector more broadly, has advocated for palliative care to be core business in aged care, endorsed by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s recommendations.

“The aged care sector is the front line for palliative care, with over a third of all deaths in Australia occurring in our aged care facilities,” Ms Rowland said.

“The Royal Commission made it clear that palliative care is essential to ensuring older people in aged care receive the respect and care they deserve. But far too few can access it and instead experience unnecessary pain and indignity at the end of their life.

“We have initiatives in our palliative care Roadmap that will integrate and enhance Labor’s current elections promises on aged care, including palliative care training for all registered nurses.”

PCA is the national peak body for palliative care, representing all those who work towards high-quality palliative care for all Australians who need it.

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Media Release - Palliative Care Australia welcomes Health Ministers to the Labor Ministry