FAQs
Palliative Care Victoria’s
2026 State Election Campaign
The Victorian State Government Elections will be held on 28 November 2026.
In the lead up to these elections, Palliative Care Victoria (PCV) has met with PCV members, health professionals, volunteers, the community, partner organisations and palliative care service providers across Victoria to capture their palliative care priorities, personal stories and identify strengths and gaps in palliative care. These consultations informed PCVs Election Campaign three Asks.
Over the last few months, these Asks have been shared with the participating major political parties to ensure people with a life limiting illness and their families are supported to live, die and grieve well.
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Tomorrow’s Care Starts Today, is Palliative Care Victoria’s (PCV) commitment to building a healthier future by acting now, not waiting for crisis.
With Victoria’s population rapidly ageing and more people living longer with complex health conditions, demand for care is at an all-time high and will only continue to grow.
Yet our system is already stretched – today, 62 Victorians will die without receiving specialist palliative care at any stage of the journey.
If planning and investment aren’t made today, tomorrow’s challenges will be even greater – we simply won’t be able to meet the increasing needs of our community if we keep doing things the same way.
This campaign is a call to invest in smarter, sustainable solutions now, so that every Victorian can trust they will receive the care they deserve today and tomorrow.
We need to build a palliative care culture in Victoria; it must become everyone’s responsibility.
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To ensure the Election Campaign Asks genuinely reflect everyone’s needs, Palliative Care Victoria (PCV) has met with PCV members, health professionals, volunteers, the community, partner organisations and palliative care service providers across Victoria to capture their palliative care priorities, personal stories and identify strengths and gaps in palliative care.
These consultations informed PCVs Election Campaign Three Asks.
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People living with a life limiting diagnosis
First Nations representatives
Multicultural communities
Victorian Palliative Care Consortia
Primary Health Networks
14 Not-for-Profit organisations with touch points across palliative care
Aged Care Advisory Groups
LGBTIQA+ Communities and The Victorian Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Communities
Disability Advisory Groups
Nurse Units and Patients
Palliative Care Volunteers and Volunteer Managers
Specialist Palliative Care professionals
Metro, rural and regional palliative care services and community groups
Palliative Care Peak Bodies
Palliative Care Victoria Board and Staff
Palliative Care Victoria Members
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Fund and embed a culture of palliative care across Victoria.
Improve transitions of care and launch a state-wide awareness campaign.
Evaluate and measure progress to drive accountability and improvement.
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Fund, and embed a culture of palliative care across Victoria
What are the issues?
Victorians with life-limiting illness are still dying without the support they need due to a confusing and disconnected system
Palliative care is inconsistently understood, resourced and embedded across Victorian Health system
Many people don’t know what palliative care is, or how to access it, and health services aren’t consistently equipped to offer palliative care early.
What Actions are needed?
Refresh the Victorian palliative care and end-of-life framework to reflect todays, and future needs
Implement targeted palliative care training for health professionals
Funding to deliver community palliative care awareness campaigns.
What are the Outcomes?
Funding these actions will save approx. 50,000 hospital beds each year in Victoria, freeing capacity, reducing pressures on the hospitals, and improving care
Training clinicians will ensure every service, from hospitals to community care, can respond early and appropriately
All Victorians (including those in marginalised communities or locations) will know their rights and options for palliative care
You, your family, and community can get the care, comfort and dignity you deserve at the most vulnerable time in life.
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Improve transitions of care and launch a state-wide awareness campaign
What are the Issues?
Services don’t always talk to each other, leaving patients and families unsure where to turn or how to get help
Different rules and referral processes mean people can miss out on palliative care or get it too late.
What Actions are needed?
Fund PCV to lead statewide integration to align palliative care pathways, clarify eligibility and ensure seamless transitions between services
Implement a coordinated statewide communications campaign to ensure clinician’s, referrers and the community understand when and how to use the integrated pathways.
What are the Outcomes?
Clear statewide palliative care pathways and better communication will make it easier for Victorians to know when and how to access palliative care
Improved system efficiency, reduce hospitals pressures and deliver improved equity, access and patient outcomes across Victoria
Patients, families, and carers are supported when they need it most and no one is left navigating end-of-life care alone.
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Evaluate and measure progress to drive accountability and improvement
What are the Issues?
Right now, there is no clear public picture of who can access palliative care, how good that care is, or where the gaps exist. Without agreed measures, progress cannot be tracked or investment decisions justified
Without data, problems stay hidden and improvements are slow
We cannot fix palliative care if we don’t measure how well it’s working.
What Actions are needed?
Develop a statewide Palliative Care Outcomes and Evaluation Framework, co-designed with PCV and the sector, to provide consistent meaningful measurement
Fund PCV to coordinate quarterly data collection and reporting that would provide transparent and actionable insights on palliative care access, equity, quality workforce and patient and family experience.
What are the Outcomes?
Evidence based policy, smarter funding decisions and clear accountability positioning Victoria as a national leader in high-quality, transparent and outcomes driven palliative care
Better care, greater transparency and confidence that Victorians are receiving safe, high-quality support at the end of life no matter where they live.
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Resources Toolkit
‘Tell Your Story’ and share the Tell Your Story QR code with family and colleagues here
Download Posters to put up at your workplace
Share PCVs social media
Download social media tiles to post
Web banners
Write to your local politician
Become an advocate
Ask your local newspaper if they would run a story
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As an outcome of our consultations, fifteen non-profit organisations with touch points across palliative care have come together to form the ‘Victorian Palliative Care Alliance’ (VPCA) with a focus on the delivery of quality palliative care for all Victorians.
VPCA Partners:
Ageing Australia
Alliance of Rural & Regional Community Health
Australian Multicultural Community Services
Cancer Council Victoria
Carers Victoria
Council on the Ageing (COTA) Victoria
Dementia Australia
Gippsland Lakes Complete Health
Heart Foundation
Lung Foundation Australia
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Victoria
MS Australia and MS Plus
Palliative Care Victoria
Thorne Harbour Health
Very Special Kids
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Open ended questions are more likely to elicit an honest response, as opposed to what the candidate thinks you want to hear. However, if you feel they are being too vague, feel free to ask them directly!
Question For Candidates
My story is…
Q. How will you and your party improve this for other voters in your electorate?If elected, what will you and your party do to improve access to palliative care in Victoria?
Too many Victorians with life-limiting illness aren’t getting the support they need to live, and die, well.
Q. What will you and your party do to change this?
Q. How can you do this: invest $200K for PCV to deliver awareness to reach community groups who often miss out?
Q. How can you do this: fund the refresh of the Victorian palliative care end-of-life framework and deliver statewide training for clinicians.62 Victorians are dying each day without access to Palliative Care. Victorians who need palliative care are falling through the cracks of a fragmented health system.
Q. What will you and your party do to fix this?In Victoria, there is no statewide, transparent picture of access, outcomes or service quality in palliative care.
Q. How will you and your party change this?If elected, will you commit to supporting PCVs Ask 1, 2 and/or 3?
1. Fund and embed a culture of palliative care across Victoria.
2. Improve transitions of care and launch a state-wide awareness campaign.
3. Evaluate and measure progress to drive accountability and improvement.
With people living longer with complex chronic life-limiting conditions. the number of Victorians needing palliative care is expected to increase by 50% by 2035 and to double by 2042!
Q. How will you and your party support this growing demand in the next 4 years?
Questions about palliative care
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Palliative care can be available to people from the time they are first diagnosed with a life-limiting illness. People can receive palliative care for a long time before they die and may receive it at the same time as they receive treatment, sometimes referred to as supportive palliative care.
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Not at all. Palliative care is available to people diagnosed with a life-limiting illness and is often provided in conjunction with active treatment. Palliative care can provide you with the support and tools you need to help ensure that you can meet your goals of care and fight for quality of life.
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Palliative care is person and family-centred care and will vary depending on each individual’s needs and circumstances. Palliative care offers pain and relief of symptoms associated with a life-limiting illness including breathlessness. Palliative care can also include medication management; advice about food and nutrition, mobility and sleeping; support for emotional, social and spiritual concerns; counselling and grief support; and assistance for families and carers.
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Palliative care is provided where the person and their family want to be, where possible. This may include:
general practice or primary health care clinic
home
palliative care outpatients’ facility
hospital
hospice (a dedicated health facility caring for people approaching the end of life)
residential aged care facility.
Disability group home
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Your palliative care team may include people from a range of health and social support professions and backgrounds including:
doctors
nurses
allied health professionals
social workers
pharmacists
physiotherapists
occupational and speech therapists
psychologists
dietitians
spiritual/pastoral practitioners
palliative care trained volunteers.
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Palliative care can help you manage your illness, particularly pain and symptoms so you can continue to live life as well as you can, while dealing with your illness. You may need it or want to have it from early in your diagnosis or you may choose to take it up once your illness progresses to a certain stage. You may have an on-off rotation through palliative care through various stages of your illness as you have periods of wellness and illness. Palliative care can mean different things to different people.
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Ask your GP or your specialist doctor to refer you to a palliative care service. A doctor's referral is essential for palliative care in hospital. In Victoria, you can request assistance from a community palliative care service without a doctor's referral. They will ask questions about your situation and explain the next steps.
If you need help to find assistance, call Palliative Care Victoria on 03 9662 9644 during business hours.
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Most palliative care services are free. There may be some costs for medicines or supplies depending on your needs, if these are not fully funded by Government. Private palliative care services charge fees. It's a good idea to ask about costs. If you have health insurance, ask if they cover palliative care.
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Palliative care aims to provide the best quality of life until the person dies. Early access to palliative care provides a person with the ability to control their symptoms more effectively and build a therapeutic relationship with their healthcare team and in some cases, has been proven to actually extend life.