Australia seeing rising demand for palliative care, AIHW reports show

Australia seeing rising demand for palliative care, AIHW reports show

15 May 2026

The AIHW has published two reports, Palliative Care Services in Australia and the National Palliative Care Measures Report, which outline national trends in service use, workforce growth, prescribing patterns, funding, and patient outcomes.

The data shows palliative care use in hospitals is increasing at a faster rate than overall hospital activity, reflecting growing need across the country.

Between 2015–16 and 2023–24, palliative care hospitalisations rose by 46%, while overall hospitalisations increased at a slower rate. Palliative care-related hospitalisations are also growing at about 4.9% per year, compared with 2.3% for all hospital admissions.

The reports also show growth in specialist services and workforce capacity. The number of palliative medicine specialist services increased from 123,400 to 149,700 between 2018–19 and 2024–25. In 2024–25, around 15,900 people received specialist palliative care. The specialist workforce also increased slightly, from 13.2 to 14.4 full-time equivalent staff per 100,000 people.

Despite this progress, the data highlights major differences in access depending on location. People living in major cities were almost five times more likely to receive palliative medicine consultations or case conferencing compared to those in remote or very remote areas.

The National Palliative Care Measures Report also shows improvements in care quality. Early access to specialist palliative care rose from 20% to 20.9%. The proportion of unstable palliative care phases resolved within three days increased from 76.1% to 82.2%. Rates of potentially non-beneficial treatments at the end of life fell from 8.9% to 8.3%, and potentially preventable hospitalisations in the last three months of life dropped from 12.9% to 11.9%.

Palliative Care Australia has welcomed the ongoing development of national data and quality measures, saying it helps build a clearer picture of care across the country.

However, the organisation says important gaps remain, including limited data on access outside specialist services, cultural safety, advance care planning, whether people die in their preferred place, and overall funding levels for palliative care.

Palliative Care Australia says continued work with governments, the AIHW and researchers is needed to improve data and ensure fair and consistent access to high-quality palliative care for all Australians.

Australia seeing rising demand for palliative care, AIHW reports show


Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) – National Palliative Care Week data releases
 
 
 
 

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