More Australians than ever are receiving palliative care – and new data reveals what it looks like today

More Australians are receiving palliative care than ever before, and new national data paints a detailed picture of how the system is growing – and where it still needs to do better.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released its latest report on palliative care services across the country, and for the millions of older Australians – and their families – who may one day need this support, the findings are both encouraging and sobering.

What is palliative care, and who uses it?

Palliative care is specialised medical support for people living with a serious, life-limiting illness. It focuses not on curing disease but on managing pain, maintaining quality of life, and supporting both the person and their family through one of life’s most difficult chapters.

It can be provided in hospitals, outpatient clinics, aged care facilities and at home – and it is far more widely used than many Australians realise.

Almost four in five people currently receiving Medicare-subsidised palliative care services are aged 65 and over.

The numbers behind the growth

The scale of palliative care in Australia is significant and growing steadily.

In 2024–25, around 15,900 people received Medicare-subsidised palliative medicine and case conference services, with more than 78,000 individual services delivered nationally.

Hospital admissions for palliative care have risen by 46 per cent between 2015–16 and 2023–24 – almost half as much again in less than a decade. In 2023–24 alone, public hospitals spent $666.7 million on admitted palliative care patients, representing 16 per cent of all subacute care costs.

Spending on outpatient palliative care has nearly doubled since 2019–20, reaching $218.9 million in 2023–24, reflecting a shift toward care being provided outside of hospital walls where possible.

Pain relief is at the centre of it all. In 2024–25, 1.6 million palliative care-related prescriptions were dispensed to around 488,000 Australians, with 80 per cent of those being pain management medicines.

“Pain management is central to quality palliative care,” AIHW spokesperson Dinesh Indraharan said.

He also noted that while the number of people receiving palliative care medications has remained broadly stable, the number of prescriptions per person has increased – a sign that individual care needs are becoming more complex.

Progress, but gaps remain

Alongside the services report, the AIHW also released an update on how Australia is tracking against its National Palliative Care Strategy, and the picture is one of steady but incomplete progress.

Most measures have either improved or held steady since 2018, with positive movement in areas like timely access to care and workforce capacity.

However, significant gaps remain. There is still limited or no national data available on cultural safety in palliative care, advance care planning, where people actually prefer to die, and how many people who need palliative care are actually receiving it.

“A full national picture of palliative care quality and equity is still emerging,” Mr Indraharan said.

What this means for you and your family

For older Australians and their loved ones, palliative care is something worth understanding before it is urgently needed. Knowing what services are available, how they are accessed, and what to expect can make an enormous difference at a time when families are already under enormous emotional pressure.

This year’s National Palliative Care Week carries the theme “What’s your plan?” – an invitation to start the conversations that too many families put off until it is too late. Speaking with your GP about palliative care options, and discussing your wishes with family members, are practical steps anyone can take today.

As Mr Indraharan put it: “Palliative care supports people and their families at some of the most vulnerable moments in their lives.”

The data confirms that more Australians are getting that support. The challenge now is making sure it reaches everyone who needs it, in the way they need it, wherever they call home.