National Palliative Care Week 2025 - What's Your Plan?
National Palliative Care Week 2025 - What's Your Plan?
Friday, February 21, 2025
Every day in Australia, 400 people of all ages die of a terminal illness. Every one of them could benefit from palliative care – care that is their human right, care that can enrich their final days, and care that too many people still miss out on.
With the support of the the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, National Palliative Care Week (NPCW) opens conversations, raises awareness, and advocates for better access to and acceptance of palliative care.
In 2025, led by Palliative Care Australia and our members around Australia, NPCW celebrates 30 years by asking a simple yet powerful question: “What’s your plan?” It’s a direct approach to Australians and their loved ones to talk about what matters most at the end of life and to make a plan that empowers and respects their choices during the last years, months, and days of life.
Why does this conversation matters even more now?
Death still remains a difficult subject for people to talk about, that’s natural and human. Death is also often considered to be a taboo. The reluctance, and lack of awareness and engagement contributes to a widespread misunderstanding of what palliative care is and what it can offer.
NPCW 2025 is about changing that. It provides an opportunity to start those conversations, break down taboos, dispel myths, and empower the life and choices that need to be considered with terminal illness and ageing.
Thank you for your interest and support – let’s get going! Below you will find a host of information to support your own understanding of palliative care and a range of ideas and resources that will enable you to get involved in National Palliative Care Week 2025.
National events
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Your local events
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Advice for you
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Other advice, tools and support
- Understanding self-care
- Planning for self-care
- Self-Care Matters campaign resources – a Palliative Care Australia resource, which aims to support you – whatever your role in palliative care – to prevent burnout and build resilience
- Self-care for volunteers working in paediatric palliative care
- Self-care for health professionals working in paediatric palliative care
- Questions for carers to ask the team caring for your loved one
- The Essence of Spiritual Care: A learning module for health care workers
- End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC) Toolkits – designed to help you in providing palliative care and advance care planning to older Australians
- Department of Health and Aged Care – palliative care education and training opportunities for anyone who works in primary care and aged care
- National Palliative Care Standards for Specialist Palliative Care Services
- National Palliative Care Standards for All Health Professionals and Aged Care Services
- CareSearch Health Professionals Centre – providing trustworthy and practical resources that are relevant to your practice
- End-of-Life Essentials: free education modules and resources
- Palliative Care Online Short Courses, Flinders University
- LGBTIQ+ Health Australia – LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Palliative Care eLearning
- End of Life Law for Clinicians – online training modules
- Palliative Care Curriculum for Undergraduates (PCC4U) – Free education modules and resources for the University and VET Sectors
- Palliative Care Education Directory – PaCE web app
- Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA) – free health placements in palliative care services and palliative approach workshops
- Paediatric End-of-Life Care Communication Course
- Education for Teachers in Schools about Paediatric Palliative Care
- Oceanic Palliative Care Conference Education Hub
- ‘Live the live you please’ documentary
- Free PCA Resource Library
- Voluntary Assisted Dying in Australia – Guiding Principles for those providing care to people living with a life-limiting illness
- Overview of Voluntary Assisted Dying in Australia by End of Life Directions in Aged Care (ELDAC).
- Navigating the topic of Voluntary Assisted Dying in Advance Care Planning Conversations: Guiding principles for health professionals
- PCA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples palliative care resources
- Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet: Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care
- caring@home for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Families
- Gwandalan palliative care education and training
- End of Life Law for Clinicians online module – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and end of life law
- ‘Working out what’s right for your child’ – Discussion Starter Cards and Yarning Companion resources for paediatric palliative care
- Free PCA Resource Library
- Palliative care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender People and People with Intersex Characteristics (LGBTI) Position Statement
- Palliative Care Victoria: palliative care for members of the Australian LGBTQIA+ multicultural and multifaith community
- LGBTIQ+ Health Australia – LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Palliative Care eLearning
- End of Life Law for Clinicians online module – Inclusive end of life decision-making with diverse populations
- Palliative care NSW – Homelessness and Palliative Care Report
- Department of Health and Aged Care – Exploratory Analysis of Barriers to Palliative Care – Issues Report on People Experiencing Homelessness
- CareSearch: palliative care issues for people experiencing homelessness
- Palliative Care Australia – Providing palliative care for people who are homeless; attempting to break down barriers
- Homeless Palliative Care Toolkit
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Quick links to more info
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Join the conversation
Sometimes, good palliative care begins with noticing.
After more than three decades in nursing, Louise Hill has learned to recognise the small changes that can signal something bigger — someone eating less, sleeping more, stepping away from a familiar routine.
Working across aged care, emergency and acute care on King Island, that knowledge helps Louise understand when it may be time to start a conversation, involve family, plan ahead or make sure medicines are available before they’re urgently needed.
In our latest People of Palliative Care story, Louise shares what decades of nursing have taught her about timing, preparation and understanding the people in her care.
“It’s just understanding people,” she says.
Read Louise’s story:
#PalliativeCare #PeopleOfPalliativeCare #Nursing #AgedCare
Remember the energy of 25OPCC? 😃
Take a look back at the special moments that made it so memorable. In 2027, we are bringing that energy to Adelaide – it’s going to get bigger and better 🎉
For the first time since 2009, the Asia Pacific Hospice Conference and Oceanic Palliative Care Conference will come together in one shared event (APHC27OPCC), bringing around 2,000 delegates from more than 20 countries.
Register by 30 September to secure the super early bird rate.
Start planning for Adelaide now 👉 https://aphc27opcc.com/
#APHC27OPCC #aphc2027 #27opcc
How can we better support people grieving after voluntary assisted dying (VAD)?
Join Grief Australia for ‘From Research to Practice: Bereavement Care Following Voluntary Assisted Dying’, an online workshop exploring current research, clinical implications and evidence-based approaches to supporting people bereaved after VAD.
📅 Tuesday 15 September 2026, 10am–1pm AEST
🎤 Facilitated by Hayley Russell, Specialist Grief Practitioner at Grief Australia
Find out more and register: https://bit.ly/4xJTqBn
#PalliativeCare #GriefSupport #Bereavement #VAD
We’re in Hobart for the Palliative Care Tasmania Conference!
It’s great to be here supporting Palliative Care Tasmania and connecting with the local palliative care community.
This year’s conference highlights the importance of the connections across the end-of-life ecosystem, bringing together clinical practice, community insight, cultural knowledge and lived experience.
If you’re at the conference, come and say hello to the PCA team at our booth, and catch our team presenting across the program:
1:30 PM – Wednesday
Kate Ritchie – Embedding Quality Improvement: National Palliative Care Standards, Palliative Care Self Assessment and Collaborative Practice
11:30 AM – Thursday
Chelsea Menchin – Looking Back to Move Forward: Insights From Shaping the Future of Paediatric Palliative Care
We’re looking forward to hearing the Tasmanian perspective, sharing ideas and making plenty of connections over the two days.
If you’re here, come and find us!
What does ‘Conversations about end of life’ mean to you?
From quiet reflections to bold expressions, there’s no single style, tone or interpretation being sought in the 2027 Live Well, Die Well Art Prize, presented by Palliative Care Australia and the Arcare Family Foundation.
Artists of all ages and backgrounds are invited to explore life, death and end of life through visual art – and share their own interpretation of the theme.
Entries are now open and free, with $30,000 in prizes across a range of categories.
Find out more and enter: https://livewell.awardsplatform.com/
#LiveWellDieWell #ArtPrize #ConversationsAboutEndOfLife
Across Australia, people are working to improve palliative care, but their contributions often go unseen. Now is your chance to change that.
🏆 Nominations for the National Palliative Care Awards 2027 are now open! 🏆
Help us recognise an individual or organisation, including a team, making a meaningful impact for people receiving palliative care and those close to them.
Nominations close on 10 December 2026. Winners will be announced at #APHC27OPCC on 22 April 2027. Nominate today – https://npcawards.awardsplatform.com/
Important information for Queensland nominations: Palliative Care Queensland Awards are open for nominations until 21 September 2026. Winners of the Queensland awards will be submitted to the National Palliative Care Awards. Please submit them directly through the Palliative Care Queensland Awards portal – https://palliativecareqld.org.au/palliative-care-qld-awards-2026/. Queensland-based nominations will not be accepted through the national awards portal this year.
#NationalPalliativeCareAwards2027
