We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands across which we live and work. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ continuing connection – both physical and spiritual – to land, sea and sky.

Transforming and supporting palliative care

COORDINARE continues to lead and support initiatives that enhance palliative and end of life care across South Eastern NSW – ensuring people receive compassionate, coordinated care closer to home.

Palliative Approach Framework

This year, we launched the Regional Palliative Approach Framework (PAF) – a user-friendly, web-based tool to support consistent, timely, and person-centred care. 

The interactive framework guides healthcare professionals in primary, community, and aged care settings through key clinical processes and palliative phases. It also includes resources to support patients and carers throughout the palliative journey.

Learn more

Building workforce capacity

To strengthen palliative and end-of-life care delivery, we developed resources and training opportunities:

The Advance Care Planning Toolkit helps general practices support patients through the ACP process.

The After-death audit quality improvement tool enables practices to reflect on care delivery and identify areas for improvement.

Grief and bereavement training modules funded by COORDINARE offered self-paced learning for primary, community, and aged care professionals.

GP scholarship palliative care placements in the Illawarra Shoalhaven region provided GPs with hands-on experience alongside specialist teams.

Thanks for the amazing opportunity to undertake the GP palliative care scholarship - I can highly recommend this to other GPs looking at applying… I learnt a lot from the week and came away with increased confidence, new skills, excellent new contacts and a far better understanding of the local palliative care service and how we as GPs can work with the service to provide excellent community palliative care to our patients.

Dr Alison Parker

Palliative Care Scholarship Placement

Dying to Know Day sparks meaningful conversations

In partnership with Shellharbour City Council, COORDINARE hosted a successful Dying to Know Day event themed 'Let’s Talk About Death and Dying'. Over 60 community members attended to explore end-of-life planning and support.

Highlights included:

  • opening remarks by Shellharbour Mayor Chris Homer
  • keynote by Kirsty Blades, CEO of Palliative Care NSW
  • carer Debbie Wieck shared her son’s end-of-life journey
  • screening of the documentary ‘Live the Life You Please’
  • 16 stalls and 50 healthcare / service providers
  • an expert panel covering palliative care, advance care planning, legal documents, and grief support.

Post-event survey results showed:

50

%

felt more comfortable discussing death and grief.

75

%

felt confident navigating healthcare and funeral services.

82

%

knew how to access palliative care.

The event fostered new connections and sparked interest in replicating it across other regions – highlighting a strong community desire to continue open conversations about death and dying.

Community workshops and presentations

COORDINARE commissioned Proveda to deliver ‘10 Things to Know Before You Go’ workshops across our region. They were well attended by community members and organisations, sparking interest in establishing local advance care champions.

Key highlights and outcomes included:

92 attendees at five sessions in Goulburn, Eden, Bermagui, Sanctuary Point, and Albion Park. Remaining workshops are scheduled for Woonona, Windang, and virtual.

Increased understanding of end-of-life planning and relevant documents (e.g. Wills, Powers of Attorney, Advance Care Directives).

Practical advice for initiating difficult conversations with loved ones.

Encouragement to discuss Advance Care Plans with GPs.

Community members expressing interest in becoming advance care champions.

Ongoing requests for further information.

The project team also delivered nine group presentations to over 250 people, focusing on advance care planning, palliative and end of life care, and carer support. Additional presentations are planned for 2025–26 in response to growing interest from local support groups.

Visit our website to learn more