About Palliative Care Australia

Palliative Care Australia is the national peak body established by the collective membership of eight state and territory palliative care organisations, plus the Australia and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine.

The membership of these associations includes palliative care service providers, clinicians, academics, consumers and members of the general community.

PCA was formed over a decade ago to address national palliative care issues, represent the area to the Federal Government and national media and to act for the sector when dealing with other national peak bodies and professional organisations.

It works closely with member organisations to provide a national platform for all who share in this endeavour and PCA collaborates on the articulation and development of national policies, standards and service improvement initiatives.

PCA works in collaboration with the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to implement the National Palliative Care Strategy and to raise awareness of palliative care, improve the understanding and availability of services across Australia, and encourage discussion to support improved knowledge networks. 

PCA has established partnerships with other key health and welfare sector organisations, including the Australian Divisions of General Practice and Carers Australia, to enhance the awareness of palliative care in the health sector and greater community. 

PCA defines hospice and palliative care to mean:

"a concept of care which provides coordinated medical, nursing and allied services for people who are terminally ill, delivered where possible in the environment of the person's choice, and which provides physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual support for patients, and support for patients' families and friends.
The provision of hospice and palliative care services includes grief and bereavement support for the family and other carers during the life of the patient and continuing after death."

The primary objective of hospice palliative care is to enable people facing death:

• to be as free as possible from unnecessary suffering (physical, emotional or spiritual);
• to maintain their dignity and independence throughout the experience; to be cared for in the environment of choice;
• to have their grief needs recognised and responded to; and
• to be assured that their families needs are also being met.

Palliative Care Australia works in collaboration with the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to implement the National Palliative Care Strategy and to raise awareness of palliative care, improve the understanding and availability of services across Australia, and encourage discussion to support improved knowledge networks.

Palliative Care Australia has established partnerships with other key health and welfare sector organisations, including the Australian General Practice Network and Carers Australia, to enhance the awareness of palliative care in the health sector and greater community.

Aims

Palliative Care Australia aims to provide a national forum for the exchange of ideas and information on matters relating to hospice and palliative care and to encourage the dissemination of information to the general community and to professional, para-professional and volunteer care givers through education and community awareness programmes;

to consult with government and health authorities on the needs of those with a progressive and terminal illness, and their families and carers, and generally to act as advocate for the rights of service users;

to assist in the identification of areas of need in the care of the terminally ill and their families and to initiate action to fulfill those needs;

provide advice to, and support the development of, emerging hospice and palliative care organisations and existing hospice and palliative care programmes throughout Australia; to assist in the development of appropriate standards for hospice and palliative care in Australia, and to promote the maintenance of these standards among members and service providers; and liaise and cooperate with organisations with similar objectives in the Asia-Pacific region and throughout the world. 

History

Palliative Care Australia, was formed in 1990 (under the name The Australian Association for Hospice and Palliative Care Inc).

Prior to this, an affiliation of committed individuals from a number of state palliative care associations met primarily to coordinate educational events on a national basis for the palliative care community. Such events included visits by international experts and the inaugural biennial Australian National Hospice Palliative Care Conference which was held in Adelaide in September 1990.

The Association's role broadened in the last few years to keep pace with the development of palliative care in Australia. Significantly more activity now occurs in the area of national advocacy following changes in Australian health care funding. Commonwealth funds have enabled the formation of a national office to support the work of the Association.

Palliative Care Australia is an affiliated member of the Australian Cancer Society, the Australian Council of Social Service and the Australian Consumers' Forum. The Association maintains close relationships with the Australian and New Zealand Society for Palliative Medicine and the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards.

 PCA Governance