Sector news

Well-defined measures help to drive improvements in a sector and, when monitored regularly, act as a concise guide for informed decision-making. The national palliative care measures aim to track if 'people affected by life-limiting illnesses get the care they need to live well'. This report provides the second update on the progress of 5 objectives in palliative care - effective; safe; appropriate; continuous and accessible care.

The strategy sets out a 10-year vision for strengthening Australia’s health and medical research system. It will help shape the future of health and medical research in Australia.

More Australians are receiving palliative care, with service use and expenditure continuing to rise across the health system, according to new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) data. In 2024–25, around 15,900 people received Medicare‑subsidised palliative medicine attendance and case conference services, with more than 78,000 services delivered nationally. Almost 4 in 5 people receiving services were aged 65 and over. In 2023–24, among the 107,500 palliative care-related hospitalisations more than half (55%) of hospitalisations ended with the patient dying in hospital,

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), in partnership with the University of Queensland, is developing a needs-based pharmacy workforce model to assess workforce requirements across key areas to support equitable access to pharmacy services across Australia. Pharmacy professionals can contribute their insights and real-world experiences to ensure the model reflects the needs of the profession. The public consultation closes 31 May 2026 and can be accessed via: PSA - National Pharmacy Workforce Analysis

NHMRC and the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) have released the new joint Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research. The new Statement replaces the 2016 version and reflects NHMRC and CHF’s commitment to embedding consumer and community involvement in all health and medical research.

The Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care has identified Priorities for high-quality digitally enabled care as a roadmap to strengthen care in an evolving digital health environment. The Commission's four Priorities will help to:

• Embed digitally enabled care in clinical governance
• Strengthen virtual care quality
• Advance connected care through standardised data
• Lead system-wide quality improvement in digitally enabled care.