[From OPG]
We have launched our new refreshed Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) website!
Our new site makes it easier to access information about our role and services, including:
Stay tuned for upcoming 2026 webinars and new digital resources, designed to help you better understand and engage with the important work we do.
To stay informed about our latest news, events, and resources, we encourage you to subscribe to our mailing list.
[From Metro North Health]
The Comfort Care Bundle for the Frail (CCBF) is a specialist palliative/geriatrician consultation service project which is providing an integrated solution to the gap that exists for people in Metro North whom have life limiting illnesses, however their prognosis may be much longer than the usual three-month prognosis considered for community palliative care, palliative outpatients or for SPACE, but they do not want or need acute care or hospital transfers.
The aim of this service is to reduce this burden of unwanted low value care on the Metro North Hospital systems and to ensure that patient and/or carer wishes are documented and respected. These patients can be streamed to more suitable venues for their care including home, palliative care, subacute care, and Residential Aged Care. Community based options for End-of-Life care will be planned for these patients. This service will provide structure and Governance for those already in RACF and those looking to transition into Aged Care for patients who no longer want restorative care. This addresses one of the major gaps perceived by Acute Care clinicians who recognise the subacute needs of their patients but do not have any direct vision of the care provided in Aged Care.
The service will sit beside SPACE under CPC and work in conjunction with those teams and capture those patients for specialist symptom management and advanced care planning who do not yet meet the criteria for CPC, SPACE or Palliative OPD due to their longer prognosis.
Referral pathways:
- QHEPS REFER for internal referrers, Metro North paper referral avail on the Metro North and submitted through the central referral unit
- Ward consultation is available in Metro North Hospital and Health Systems Acute and Non-Acute settings via verbal referral and followed by eREFER.
- RACF consultation available to all RACF’s in the Metro North catchment
- Community home based consultations available
- GP Smart Refer and Refer Your Patient. Just note that referral is for ‘CCBF.
For more:
Contact:
Comfort Care Bundle for the Frail Specialist Consultation Service
Community Palliative Care Service
P (07) 30495737 | M: (07) 30491226
E CPC-CCBF@health.qld.gov.au
W metronorth.health.qld.gov.au
A Level 1, 9 Endeavour Boulevard North Lakes Health Precinct North Lakes, QLD, 4509
[From Palliative Care Australia]
Palliative Care Australia (PCA) has welcomed new linked data released this week from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), providing a national picture of older people’s access to specialist palliative care.
The AIHW data, based on 132,000 people aged 65 and over who had predictable deaths (from illness) in 2021-22, indicates older people are typically first receiving specialist palliative care just 12 days before they die.
PCA CEO Camilla Rowland said the findings reveal complex patterns across aged care, hospital and community settings, but a very clear story about timing.
“The median time between a first specialist palliative care service and death was just 12 days. We know from the evidence that outcomes are better when people get early access to palliative care – at least 90 days before death,” Ms Rowland said.
“Earlier access to specialist palliative care is associated with reduced hospitalisations, better symptom control and more supported decision making. That gap represents lost time for comfort, planning and connection for older people and their families.”
Given Australia will have a major increase in the 85 plus aged group over the next decade, the need for palliative care will only increase.
The data highlights particular concerns for people living in residential aged care, who are less likely to receive specialist palliative care, and more likely to receive it even closer to death, than people using home care or residential respite care.
“Older people in residential aged care often have complex conditions such as frailty and dementia, and they absolutely stand to benefit from palliative care,” Ms Rowland said. “Yet this data shows they are the least likely to receive specialist palliative care, and when they do, it comes even closer to death. Families want more than a week or two of help at the very end – they want time to understand what is happening, manage symptoms well, and share precious, unhurried moments together.”
The AIHW notes that the report does not capture all palliative care activity in Australia, including some care delivered within residential aged care, in private hospitals, some community-based services and primary care. Even with these limitations, the patterns are striking, including high levels of unplanned hospital and emergency department use in the last year of life.
“The report confirms what many families and clinicians have been feeling for a long time – that palliative care is often introduced as a late response to dying, rather than a supportive approach to care over months,” Ms Rowland said.
Read the full AIHW report: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/palliative-careservices/palliative-care-older-people-aged-care/contents/about
[from Compassionate Communities Australia]
We’re pleased to share a short video that offers a clear, accessible explanation of what Compassionate Communities are, and are not. It aims to gently debunk common myths, strengthen shared understanding, and support more confident conversations across all settings.
We invite you to share this resource with organisations, colleagues, and decision-makers you’re connected with. A shared understanding of the approach helps create a strong foundation for the advocacy statements we developed together at the CCAus Forum, and for the ongoing work of bringing them to life in practice.
You can watch the video explainer here
The Editorial on which the video is based can be found here
[from QuoCCA]
On 16 October, we again hosted Good grief, this hurts! which is a free, annual educational event aimed at building community capacity and practical awareness about grief, loss, death, and bereavement as experienced by children and young people. This event was an opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills in supporting a child or young person who is grieving. If you were unable to join the live event, you can still access the recording by following this link: Good Grief This Hurts! October 2025 on Vimeo
To support your learning about caring for bereaved young people check out the accompanying Good grief, this hurts! Resource Guide. In acknowledging that thinking, talking, and reflecting upon grief, loss and bereavement may cause distress, we urge you to take pause for self-care and offer a resource to support this space with the Good grief, this hurts! Reflection Guide.
In 2025, the Good grief, this hurts! webinar focused on Growing Up and Grieving: Deepening Our Understanding of Young People's Grief and explored how children and young people experience and express grief. The 2-hour virtual session unpacked the unique challenges faced by grieving young people, the ways grief evolves as they grow, and how adults can offer meaningful support.
This year, we welcomed as the event host Ainslie Plumb, who is a Youth Cancer Advisor with the Youth Cancer Service, and she told her own story of love and loss, as well as a panel of three renowned speakers who spoke to current research and thinking about re-imagining childhood grief.
Dr Lauren Breen is a psychologist, researcher, author, TEDx speaker, and a professor of psychology at Curtin University. She works to understand the psychology of grief and loss over the lifespan and the intersections with mental health and wellbeing.
Meg Chin is an experienced senior social worker, Family Support Team Leader and a certified EPEC-Paediatrics Trainer. Meg specialises in play-based counselling with a strong interest in children’s rights.
Shelly Skinner, Social Worker is the CEO and Founder of Lionheart Camp for Kids, a not-for-profit supporting children, teens, and families following the death of a significant person in their family.
The Quality of Care Collaborative Australia (QuoCCA) project delivers paediatric palliative care education to health professionals in urban, rural, regional and remote areas who may care for children and young people with palliative and end-of-life care needs.
[From ELDAC]
The End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC) Linkages Program is calling for expressions of interest from aged care providers who wish to strengthen their palliative care and advance care planning processes and capacity.
The ELDAC Linkages Program is seeking a diverse range of eligible aged care services (residential and home care package providers) from across Australia to participate in this initiative, funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
Participating services may be eligible to receive an administrative grant of up to $20,000 to support engagement in program activities.
What’s involved?
Your service will be provided with tailored support, including access to an ELDAC facilitator and a range of tools and resources to:
- Review current palliative care and advance care planning processes.
- Develop, implement and sustain selected palliative care and advance care planning improvement activities.
- Build capacity to provide care for older people nearing the end of life.
- Strengthen linkages between your service and other care providers in end of life care.
- Participating services may be eligible to receive an administrative grant of up to $20,000 to support engagement in program activities.
To apply
To register your interest, complete the Submission Form.
For further information, contact eldacteam1@qut.edu.au.
[From CPCRE]
CPCRE is excited to announce that the new-look CPCRE website went live on Wednesday 29th October 2025: Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education (CPCRE) | Queensland Health
The updated CPCRE website has a stream-lined look and incorporates menu buttons and a blue tile ‘picture-graphic layout’. The new website design brings the CPCRE website into line with the rollout of the updated Queensland Health corporate branding ‘media design’ requirements for public-facing websites. CPCRE gratefully acknowledges the assistance, professional guidance and support of the Metro North Online team in updating the CPCRE website.
We hope that you – our supporters, find the new website to be engaging, easy to use, and informative for your palliative care education and research needs. Let us know what you think of the new CPCRE website, by sending an email to the CPCRE email: cpcre@health.qld.gov.au
We value and look forward to receiving your feedback.
[from ACPA]
Advance Care Planning Australia, in partnership with Ageing Australia, has released a new resource to support retirement living and seniors housing operators in helping residents understand and plan for their future health care.
The Advance care planning in retirement villages and seniors housing implementation guide provides practical advice on raising resident awareness, understanding the different types of advance care planning documents, and setting clear boundaries around organisational roles. The guide also outlines considerations for emergencies, privacy, and staff training, along with a practical checklist that operators can use to review or strengthen their current practices.
Although retirement communities are not health care providers, they are uniquely placed to connect residents with reliable information and help them make informed choices. This new guide supports operators to do this safely, appropriately, and confidently.
Download the new Implementation guide
To ensure the Brisbane North Palliative Care Collaborative (BNPCC) is worthwhile and valuable for all members, we undertake annual evaluation. All members are invited to provide feedback on 9 questions.
More information is available on this handout.
Responses are open for eight weeks from Wednesday 19 November to Wednesday 14 January 2026.
Responses are deidentified and collated. Findings will be presented at the first BNPCC meeting in 2026, with recommendations for the group to consider.
The goal is to have at least 70% of members provide feedback. Responses can be given anonymously online, or in writing, or verbally- via any method preferred- including carrier pigeon!
Karuna's Carer Support Service has a couple of workshops coming up:
-
Stress Management for Carers- 4 December
-
Finding Balance & Connection During the Holidays- 17 December
(click the workshop title to see the flyer)
See the service flyer for more information on the Carer Support Services on offer.
2026
Johns books (Aug 2025) (243 KB) (jpg)