What Is Palliative Care? A Guide for Australians and Their Families

Making every day as comfortable, meaningful and full as it can be, that's at the heart of palliative care. With the right supports in place, most people can receive that care at home, close to the people they love, in the surroundings they know best.

What is Palliative Care?

Palliative Care is specialised support for people living with a serious or life-limiting illness. The goal is not to cure the illness, but to improve quality of life by managing pain, relieving symptoms, and addressing the emotional, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of a person's wellbeing.

It is important to understand that palliative care is not just end-of-life care. It can and should begin early, often alongside active treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. A person can receive palliative care for months or even years before the final stages of an illness.

Palliative Care is delivered by a multidisciplinary team that may include doctors, nurses, social workers, allied health professionals, chaplains, and trained Support Workers. It can be provided in a range of settings: a hospital, a hospice, a residential aged care facility or, increasingly, the place most Australians prefer, their own home.

Who is Palliative Care for?

Palliative Care is not limited to any particular condition or age group. It is for anyone living with a serious, life-limiting or chronic progressive illness, including:

• Cancer
• Heart failure and cardiovascular disease
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Dementia, including younger onset dementia
• Motor Neurone Disease (MND)
• Parkinson's disease
• Kidney or liver failure
• Neurological conditions
• Stroke

The key question is not "how long does this person have?" but rather "how can we help this person live as well as possible right now?"

The numbers speak for themselves

What does Palliative Care involve?

Good palliative care treats the whole person, not just their medical condition. \It addresses three interconnected dimensions of a person's experience.

A palliative care plan is built around what matters most to the individual. That means talking honestly about what a person hopes for, what they want to avoid, and what will make each day as comfortable and meaningful as possible. 

Palliative Care at home: preference and effectiveness

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reports that palliative care-related hospitalisations increased by 46 per cent between 2015-16 and 2023-24, and that public hospitals spent $594.5 million on admitted-patient palliative care in 2022-23. 

For most Australians, home is where they most want to be during serious illness, and the research consistently confirms this.

This gap is not simply about preference; there is strong evidence that home-based palliative care is also more effective at reducing unnecessary use of the health system. such as avoidable hospitalisation or presentations to emergency departments.

The Australian Government has recognised this with a dedicated Support at Home End-of-Life Pathway.  This short-term pathway provides access to a higher level of in-home aged care services for people with a life expectancy of three months or less, helping them remain in the comfort and familiarity of their own home for as long as possible.

The Support at Home End-of-Life Pathway

One of the most significant reforms to aged care in Australia was the introduction of the Support at Home program and the Support at Home End-of-Life Pathway, both launched in November 2025.

The Support at Home program, which replaced the former Home Care Packages program, is designed to ensure that older eligible Australians receive quality support services in their own homes. The additional short-term end-of-life pathway is for participants who are assessed as needing specialised palliative care, allowing them also to remain at home with the right support around them

Palliative Care Australia has described the End of Life Short-Term Pathway as a significant and positive reform, consistent with the strong community desire to receive both aged care and palliative care at home for as long as possible.

Services are tailored to individual needs and confirmed as part of your support plan. Your Just Better Care team works alongside your medical team to coordinate the right supports.

How to access it?

Access to the End-of-Life Pathway begins with your GP or nurse practitioner. They will complete the End-of-Life Pathway Form and submit it via My Aged Care as a high-priority assessment. Once approved, your home care provider, such as Just Better Care, works with you to develop a care plan and begin services quickly.

The End of Life pathway is available to people already receiving ongoing Support at Home services, as well as those new to the aged care system.

If you are already a Just Better Care participant, our friendly local teams can facilitate an urgent Support Plan Review to transition you to the pathway and are happy to assist you with private support to ensure continuity of care.

How does Just Better Care support palliative care at home?

Just Better Care is Australia's largest franchised provider of in-home aged care and disability support, operating through a network of independently owned and operated local offices in every state and territory. 

We have been supporting people to remain safely and comfortably at home through serious illness for over twenty years, and our teams are trained, compassionate and genuinely invested in the well-being of your whole family.

Working with your medical and hospital teams

Palliative care at home is coordinated between your GP, specialist palliative care team, hospital discharge team and your home care provider. Each plays a distinct but interconnected role. 

At Just Better Care, we take our part in Palliative Care coordination seriously.

• Reviewing discharge summaries and care instructions from your hospital team
• Liaising with your GP and specialist palliative care providers to align our support with your clinical plan
• Reporting changes in your condition or needs to your medical team promptly
• Attending to advance care directives and making sure your expressed wishes are respected and documented within our care systems
• Collaborating palliative care services, which provide specialist clinical support that sits alongside our home care services

Our Care Partners coordinate services across disciplines and work closely with your medical team and palliative care providers. 

If you are unsure who to contact or how to connect with palliative care services in your area, the Palliative Care Australia National Service Directory provides a searchable database of services by state and territory. Alternatively, your local Just Better Care team can also help guide you in the right direction.

Supporting your family and loved ones

Serious illness does not happen to one person in isolation. Families hold enormous burdens and responsibilities, often while managing their own grief, work commitments and exhaustion.

At Just Better Care, we see family carers as part of the extended care team, not bystanders. We work hard to ensure they are supported too, and our services are specifically designed to take the pressure off the people closest to your loved one.

Respite for carers

Our respite for carers services are a core part of how we help families sustain the care they provide over weeks and months. 

Carer burnout is a real and serious risk when someone is providing full-time or intensive support to a loved one. Whether you need a few hours a week or more intensive relief, our respite services can work around your schedule.

Advance care planning: making your wishes known

One of the most important and often delayed conversations in palliative care is advance care planning.

An advance care plan (also called an advance care directive in some states) is a document that records your preferences, values and wishes about your future care, in case a time comes when you are unable to communicate them yourself.

What does an advance care plan do?

• Gives your medical and care teams clear guidance on your wishes
• Reduces the burden on family members who might otherwise have to make difficult decisions on your behalf
• Helps ensure your care reflects what matters most to you, including your preferred place of care and what treatments you do or do not want
• Can be updated at any time as your situation or wishes change

Advance Care Planning Australia provides state and territory-specific information, forms, and guidance for individuals, families and health professionals. 

We recommend speaking with your GP about starting this process early. Ideally, before a health crisis, when you have the time and space to think carefully about your choices.

 At Just Better Care, we respect and work within the framework of your advance care directive at all times.

Palliative Care: Frequently Asked Questions