Australia is made up of people with many different backgrounds. One in four Australians were born overseas. Indigenous Australians make up 2.4% of Australia's population and 1.5% of Australians are 85 years or older.

People living with a terminal illness may require different types of care and support depending on their disease, where they live, or other characteristics such as age or culture.

When groups with particular needs are identified, special care processes may be developed. Some of the groups that have specific palliative care needs include older Australians, those with dementia, children, people living in rural and remote Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and those from other cultural backgrounds.   

There is information on palliative care for these specific groups in the patient and family pages.

  

This page was created on 22 April 2008 and is due for review in April 2010.