Palliative Care Australia (PCA), the peak body for palliative care in Australia, has injected new ideas into the debate on how to relieve "bed block" in public hospitals in its 2026 Federal Budget Submission.
PCA CEO Camilla Rowland said palliative care is a practical, compassionate way to free up hospital beds while giving people the care they need at the end of life.
"Hospital spending is much higher for people in their last year of life. While many need to be in hospital, some end up there because they haven't had the right care early enough, or because their wishes have not been respected," Ms Rowland said.
"On average, people first see a specialist palliative care service just 15 days before they die. That is far too late. We can, and must, do better."
Ms Rowland said all of Palliative Care Australia's 2026 Federal Budget proposals would make a contribution to relieving bed block in hospitals around Australia, by shifting care to the community where people want to be.
PCA's proposals are designed to keep people well-supported at home or in aged care, instead of in a hospital bed that should be available for emergency or acute care. PCA is calling on the Federal Government to:
Redesign the health system of tomorrow so roles and responsibilities for palliative care are clear across hospitals, general practice and aged care
Fund GPs appropriately to make home visits and to do vital palliative care work that Medicare doesn't currently recognise
Base aged care funding on palliative care need, not on trying to predict life expectancy, which is very difficult even for experienced doctors
Provide Foundational Supports at home for people under 65 with a terminal illness, so they can stay safely at home instead of remaining in hospital because there is no help available.
"We're asking government to redesign and resource the health system to meet the growing need, so it's crystal clear who is responsible for delivering palliative care, and how," Ms Rowland said.
"These are realistic, targeted reforms that will reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, speed up safe discharge, and ease the 'bed block' that is crippling our hospitals – while giving Australians much better care at the end of life. Palliative Care Australia wants to partner with the Federal Government and all jurisdictions on these solutions so we can make a real difference for patients, families and the health system."
