New guide helps volunteers navigate palliative care encounters
An article written by Mel Kerton, Chief Executive Officer, Southern Volunteering (SA) Inc. and Donatella Amos, Executive Officer, Northern Volunteering (SA) Inc.
Volunteers give their time across a wide and diverse range of community services such as disability, aged care, environmental work, arts, homelessness, sport, youth work, migrant services, health, emergency response and more. They make an estimated $290 billion contribution to the economy. Given the range of people volunteers support, and the breadth of the population this impacts, it is not unusual that someone in their sphere of service may receive a palliative diagnosis.
We identified a need for a resource to assist volunteers in navigating the palliative care space, giving them the information needed to feel confident in their interactions with the people they support. We focussed primarily on a national program, the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS), whereby the volunteers visit socially isolated older people and provide friendship and conversation. We engaged Palliative Care SA to assist with the creation of a guide for ACVVS volunteers. This guide can be found here: https://svsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/PCVoliSA_-ACVVS-Guide.pdf
The resource is currently being adapted and broadened to a generic document that any volunteer can pick up and use, should they find themselves supporting someone with a palliative illness, whether this be through social support services, mentoring, customer service, tutoring, transport services or even a fellow volunteer.
Authors
Mel Kerton
Chief Executive Officer
Southern Volunteering (SA) Inc.
Donatella Amos
Executive Officer
Northern Volunteering (SA) Inc.