Palliative care — specialised medical and supportive care for people with life-limiting illness — is one of medicine's most important but underfunded fields. Every Australian will encounter palliative care, whether personally or through a loved one, yet most do not die in their preferred place and many experience inadequate symptom management. Grant funding supports the services, workforce, research, and community education that enable more Australians to die with dignity and comfort.
Who needs palliative care
Approximately 190,000 Australians die each year. Of these:
- Approximately 70% would benefit from palliative care (not just those with cancer)
- Cancer patients: the traditional palliative care focus, but decreasing as a proportion
- Heart failure, COPD, kidney disease, dementia — major and growing non-cancer palliative care needs
- Children and young adults with life-limiting conditions (paediatric palliative care)
Where Australians die
Most Australians express preference to die at home — yet most still die in hospital:
- Approximately 54% die in hospital
- 20% in residential aged care
- Only 14% at home
- 6% in hospice
Palliative care funding is partly oriented toward enabling more home deaths.
Disparities
Department of Health and Aged Care
Commonwealth funds palliative care through:
- National Palliative Care Strategy 2018
- Palliative Care in Residential Aged Care
- Community Palliative Care Workforce Programme
- Palliative Care research
- Palliative Care MBS items (GP palliative care planning)
State and territory health departments
States fund:
- In-patient palliative care units (hospital and hospice)
- Community palliative care teams
- Palliative care specialist workforce
- Paediatric palliative care services
Residential aged care
Most residential aged care residents would benefit from palliative care in their final months — palliative care in aged care is funded through the aged care system.
The Palliative Care Research Collaborative
Research partnerships across universities and health services.
Palliative Care Australia
Peak national body — advocacy, standards, some funding programmes for member organisations.
State palliative care associations
Each state has a palliative care peak body:
- Palliative Care NSW
- Palliative Care Victoria
- Palliative Care Queensland
- Palliative Care WA
Hospice-specific philanthropic funding
Most hospices are partly or wholly philanthropically funded:
- Community fundraising and bequests
- Named gift opportunities (beds, rooms, equipment)
- Memorial gifts
- Corporate community partnerships
Medical research funders
NHMRC and medical research foundations fund palliative care research:
- Symptom management
- Communication (advance care planning)
- Health services research
- Palliative care for specific conditions
Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) paediatric palliative care
Paediatric palliative care philanthropy — children and families.
Inpatient hospice and palliative care units
Specialist units providing intensive symptom management:
- Capital costs (new or refurbished facilities)
- Equipment (medication delivery, comfort)
- Complementary therapies (massage, music therapy, chaplaincy)
- Volunteer coordination
- Family rooms and support
Community palliative care
Enabling palliative care in the home:
- Community palliative care nurses
- Specialist community palliative care team visits
- Medical equipment for home care
- 24-hour telephone advice for carers
- Respite for carers
Paediatric palliative care
Children and young adults with life-limiting conditions:
- Children's palliative care specialist services (Very Special Kids in Victoria, Bear Cottage in NSW)
- Family support
- Sibling programmes
- School liaison
- Bereavement support
Advance care planning
Helping people express their wishes before crisis:
- Community ACP education
- Healthcare provider ACP training
- Culturally appropriate ACP (Indigenous, CALD)
- Digital ACP platforms
Palliative care for specific conditions
Rural and remote palliative care
Indigenous palliative care
Bereavement support
Carer support
Family carers providing end-of-life care need support:
- Carer education and training
- Psychological support
- Respite
- Financial advice
- Carer bereavement after their person dies
Dignity and choice
Palliative care is fundamentally about dignity, comfort, and choice. Frame your application around what people want — not just what medicine can do. Show how your programme enables people to live well until they die.
Integration with mainstream health
Palliative care intersects with oncology, cardiology, aged care, and geriatrics — show integration rather than siloed service delivery.
Volunteer sustainability
Volunteers are central to hospice and palliative care — show how you recruit, train, and support volunteers for this emotionally demanding work.
Bereavement outcomes
Palliative care outcomes extend beyond death to bereavement — show how your programme supports families through loss, not just up to the moment of death.
Cultural specificity
Death is profoundly cultural. Show how your programme accommodates diverse cultural practices around dying, death, and mourning.
Tahua's grants management platform supports palliative care funders and hospice organisations — with programme participant tracking, quality of care outcome measurement, carer and bereavement support data, and the reporting tools that help palliative care funders demonstrate their contribution to dignified end-of-life care for Australians.