Key messages
- The Framework sets a clear direction for palliative care in Victoria, with the priority directions and actions designed to be embedded into service planning, policies and practice.
- The Framework supports earlier engagement with care and more conversations about end of life and forward planning.
- It recognises the need for more flexible care models aligned to individual needs and that enable more people to receive care at home and in their communities.
- The Framework helps the system to respond to growing demand as the population ages and changing household structures mean fewer family and other supports are available to provide care.
- The Framework explains how different services should work together to support better coordination, appropriate referrals and more consistent care for patients.
- High-quality and compassionate palliative care is essential to supporting dignity and choice for all Victorians at and approaching the end of life.
Developing Victoria’s new Framework
The Victorian Government launched Victoria’s Palliative and End-of-life Care Framework 2026–36 on 15 May 2026.
The Framework was developed under the guidance of Associate Professor Mark Boughey, as the Chief Palliative Care Adviser.
The Framework’s vision and goals represent the Victorian community’s aspiration and the outcomes they want to see from the palliative care system. These have been developed in consultation with consumers and the sector and informed by expert input, best practice evidence and people’s lived experience of the service system.
Our vision
Victorians can access high-quality palliative and end-of-life care that meets the unique needs of each person and their carers and family. Care is provided through an integrated, responsive and inclusive service system.
Goals
- Care is responsive to people’s assessed needs and supports individual values, preferences and wellbeing.
- People are cared for and, where possible, can die in their place of choice.
- Carers and families are supported and valued as vital partners in each person’s care journey.
- Care is responsive to the needs of diverse communities and supports self-determination for First Peoples.
- People experience high-quality and coordinated care at the right time.
- People’s care is integrated across providers and workforces, with a focus on interdisciplinary approaches.
Core principles
- Equity, responsiveness and choice
- Safe, high-quality, person-centred care
Five priority directions
| Priority direction | Intent | Actions |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Provide more care at home | Victoria is reshaping its care system so home comes first when that is a person’s wish |
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| 2. Support people’s holistic needs and those of carers, families, and loved ones | A focus on wellbeing and what is most important to people approaching the end of life |
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| 3. Improve system interfaces and care pathways | People experience well-coordinated care and can navigate the system more easily |
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| 4. Build a capable and interconnected workforce | Coordinated palliative care delivered by a confident, interdisciplinary workforce |
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| 5. Enhance innovation, digital capability, and use of data | Better using technology to deliver best practice care, everywhere |
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* Subject to future funding decisions of government.
What success looks like
- Positive experiences of care and benchmarked patient outcomes.
- More palliative care and more care at home in the last 100 days of life.
- Equitable access, inclusive and culturally responsive care.
- Peoples’ care choices are known and wishes are respected.
- Carers are supported and people have the information they need.
- A capable interdisciplinary workforce, ensuring consistent needs assessment.
The Framework
Additional framework resources will be released in due course.
Refresh of the Palliative care service capability framework
A key next step for the Department of Health is to refresh the Palliative Care Service Capability Framework with planning already underway.
This will ensure that Victoria’s palliative and end-of-life care policies and service models continue to drive accessible and high-quality care to help ensure that Victorians can live as fully and comfortably as possible with their life-limiting or terminal illness.
If you would like to know more about the capability framework refresh, please contact us by emailing pallcare@health.vic.gov.au.
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