Australian Resources

When providing care context matters. It affects many aspects of care including what is appropriate and what is possible. In this section you will find links to organisations and resources relevant to the Australian setting.

Government websites and policies

Department of Health website has relevant resources and tools that are focused on both Palliative care and Aged Care. Some documents relating to government policy are also listed below and you can find more on the palliAGED Policy Timeline
- Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) User Guide 2017
- 2019 Aged Care Diversity Framework action plans
- Clinical practice guidelines and principles of care for people with dementia. Recommendations by the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia; 2016 Feb
- Minimising restraints in aged care. These pages have been developed to assist staff and management working in residential aged care setting to make informed decisions in relation to the use or non-use of restraint, in responding to behaviours of concern
- Guiding principles for medication management in residential aged care facilities - 2012
- National Palliative Care Strategy - 2018
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) which coordinates national improvements in safety and quality in health care across Australia
Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission provides information on promoting quality, innovation and improvement of service in aged care. This organisation also offers short courses and workshops for further professional development
Department of Veterans' Affairs Australia (DVA)
Training.gov.au is the official national register of information on registered training organisations (RTOs), qualifications, courses, units of competency and training packages in Australia

State government resources

Major projects

The following includes selected past and current projects and resources relevant to aged care and funded by the Department of Health. This includes the National Palliative Care Program which aims to improve access to and quality of palliative care and is administrated through the Department of Health.

Advance Care Planning Australia is a national program with the purpose of building the foundation for a national collaborative approach to advance care planning
Advance Project has been specifically designed to support Australian general practices to implement a team-based approach to initiating advance care planning and palliative care into everyday clinical practice
Ageing Better Oral Health in Residential Care Training project was completed in 2010
CareSearch consolidates online palliative care knowledge for health professionals, people needing palliative care and their families, and for the general community. Resources available within the CareSearch website include the Grey literature database
Caring@home provides support and resources designed to be delivered by clinicians to lay caregivers who need to manage subcutaneous medications as part of palliative care
Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC) website is a hub of information regarding research programs and reports specific to dementia
Department of Health Local Palliative Care Grant Round 5 has funded the Partnership in Palliative Care Australia project which has produced the Affirming Life: What is a palliative approach – a guide for family and friends with loved ones in aged care and explains palliative care in an Australian Residential Aged Care setting
ELDAC provides information, guidance, and resources to health professionals and aged care workers to support specialist palliative care and advance care planning to improve the care of older Australians
End of Life Essentials provides e-learning opportunities and resources for doctors, nurses and allied health professionals to improve the quality and safety of end-of-life care in hospitals
Key Elements of a Palliative Approach for People with Severe and End Stage Dementia (759kb pdf) is document that was developed by a collaboration between Alzheimer’s Australia WA and Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI)
palliAGED for evidence-based guidance, this incorporates and updates the evidence-based information previously contained in the Guidelines for a Palliative Approach in Residential Aged Care (APRAC) and the Guidelines for a Palliative Approach for Aged Care in the Community Setting (COMPAC)
Program of Experience in Palliative Approach (PEPA)
Greater Choice for At Home Palliative Care is testing palliative care coordination through Primary Health Networks

Australian professional organisations

Australian Association of Gerontology has information on Indigenous Ageing
Australian Human Rights Commission has produced a working paper where it argues that quality care can only be achieved when there is understanding and recognition of the human rights of the care recipients
- The paper is called Respect and Choice: A human rights approach for ageing and health
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF)
Wounds Australia
Member boards of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency including:
National Aged Care Alliance (NACA) is a representative body of peak national organisations in aged care, including consumer groups, providers, unions and health professionals
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) provides information on approved programs of study for nursing which have been accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council and approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) have published the RACGP aged care clinical guide (Silver Book) (2019)
The Australian College of Nursing manages nursing scholarships on behalf of Government

Selected Australian support organisations

Alliance for Forgotten Australians (AFA)
Dementia Australia
Australian Pain Society (APS) including Pain in Residential Aged Care Facilities: Management Strategies
Brain Injury Australia has resources and information on accessing support for those people living with an acquired brain injury and their carers
Cancer Council of Australia
Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN) which is a network for people who grew up in Australia's orphanages, children's homes and in foster care
Carers Australia
Child Migrants Trust
Dementia Australia has help sheets to support families of people with dementia
Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI)
Meaningful Ageing supports the pastoral and spiritual needs of older people, their significant others, and their carers
MNDcare provides information for Australian health and community care professionals involved in motor neurone disease (MND) care and support
MS Society of Australia
Palliative Care Australia (PCA)
Palliative Care Australian Capital Territory
Palliative Care New South Wales
Palliative Care Northern Territory
Palliative Care Queensland
Palliative Care South Australia
Palliative Care Tasmania
Palliative Care Victoria
Palliative Care Western Australia
Parkinson’s Australia is a website that provides advocacy to people living with Parkinson’s disease and is the peak body for support services consisting of representatives from all State and Territory Parkinson’s organisations. This website provides many free to download information sheets about many aspects of caring for people living with Parkinson’s disease
Spiritual Care Australia
The Summer Foundation provides support for the needs of younger people in Residential Aged Care
Synapse Australia’s national Brain Injury Organisation
Open Arms - Veterans and Families Counselling Service
Young People in Nursing Homes National Alliance (YPINH) is Australia's first peak body for young Australians with disability and high/complex needs

Australian online education programs and learning institutions

Australian Indigenous Health Infonet has information on available courses
CareSearch has a list of appraised online and web-based learning modules relevant to palliative care in the residential aged care setting
- Short Courses and Workshops
- eLearning
CareSearch provides a list of courses for non-health professionals
Dementia Training Australia has information regarding resources which includes online pages and downloadable learning materials

Australian academic journals

Australian Journal of General Practice (AJGP) is a peer reviewed journal with information relevant to Australian GPs
Australian Journal of Rural Health is available online and provides publications on the current research around regional and rural health issues
Australasian Journal on Ageing is a peer reviewed journal, which publishes original work in any area of gerontology and geriatric medicine
Australian Health Review explores health policy and management including healthcare delivery systems, clinical programs, and health financing
Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing aims to provide a vehicle for nurses to publish original research and scholarly papers about all areas of nursing
The Rural and Remote Health Journal carries many articles on Indigenous health care

Page updated 17 April 2020