National Palliative Care Week 2026 urges Australians to ask the big questions

Palliative Care Australia

Key Facts:

· More than 450 people in Australia die each day of a life-limiting illness and could benefit from palliative care.

· Dementia is now the leading cause of death in Australia, accounting for 9.4% of all deaths in 2024.

· Only 38% of people who die of a life-limiting illness receive specialist palliative care. On average, people first receive specialist palliative care 15 days before death, and only 1 in 5 people receive timely palliative care (three months or more before death).

· 73% of Australians say they are open to talking about advance care planning, but only 33% have undertaken any form of advance care planning.

· Around 90% of people say they want end-of-life care at home with appropriate supports, yet an estimated 51% of deaths happen in hospital, 29.5% in residential aged care, and 14.9% at home.

Palliative Care Australia is encouraging Australians to start conversations about palliative and end-of-life care ahead of National Palliative Care Week, 10 to 16 May 2026.

This year’s campaign, Getting to the heart of it: Big Questions. Real Answers., is designed to make palliative care easier to understand by encouraging honest questions and responses.

Palliative Care Australia Interim CEO Simon Waring said National Palliative Care Week is an opportunity to help more Australians better understand what palliative care is, when it can help, and why earlier conversations matter.

“Too many Australians still think palliative care is only for the very end of life. In reality, it helps people live as well as possible for as long as possible by managing pain and symptoms, and it can be provided alongside other treatments,” Mr Waring said.

“Palliative care is about quality of life. It addresses physical symptoms, as well as emotional, social and spiritual needs, and provides practical and emotional support for families and carers. It’s not about hastening or delaying death, but on helping people live well for as long as they can.”

“National Palliative Care Week puts palliative care front and centre and encourages people to ask questions earlier, access trusted information, and start conversations that lead to more informed, personal and compassionate care.”

A key event during the week is the National Palliative Care Week 2026 Special Guest Lecture, Rethinking Dementia and End-of-Life Care, delivered by palliative care physician and author Dr Michael Chapman. The lecture will explore dementia in the context of end-of-life care, placing one of Australia’s most urgent health challenges at the centre of the national conversation on palliative care. It will be delivered and livestreamed on Thursday 14 May 2026 at 12:30 pm AEST.

The focus is especially timely. Dementia is now the leading cause of death in Australia, and as the population ages, access to palliative care is becoming more crucial than ever. Every day, more than 450 people across the age spectrum die of a life-limiting illness and could benefit from palliative care.

Palliative Care Australia invites health and aged care services, community organisations, workplaces, advocates and individuals to get involved by downloading the National Palliative Care Week 2026 Supporter Toolkit and sharing campaign resources available on the PCA website. The toolkit includes campaign information, key messages, suggested social media copy, and facts about death and dying. Downloadable assets include logos, posters, event templates, social media tiles and banners, a website banner, and email signature banners.

“Whether it’s putting up a poster, customising an event template, sharing social media content or tuning in to the National Palliative Care Week lecture, every action helps build understanding and support better care for Australians facing a life-limiting illness,” Mr Waring said.

National Palliative Care Week 2026 is supported by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

To access campaign resources, download the Supporter Toolkit and support National Palliative Care Week, visit the Palliative Care Australia website: https://palliativecare.org.au/npcw/national-palliative-care-week-2026-getting-to-the-heart-of-it-big-questions-real-answers/

About us:

Palliative Care Australia is the national peak body for palliative care.

What is palliative care?

Palliative care is person and family-centred care provided for a person with an active, progressive, advanced disease, who has little or no prospect of cure and who is expected to die, and for whom the primary goal is to optimise the quality of life.

Palliative care helps people live their life as fully and as comfortably as possible when living with a life-limiting or terminal illness. Palliative care identifies and treats symptoms which may be physical, emotional, spiritual or social.