Aged Care, Older People and Palliative Care - December 2025

End of Life Law for Clinicians (ELLC) is a free online training program about end of life decision-making for GPs, nurses and allied health professionals in primary care and aged care.  

Topics include advance care directives, substitute decision-making, capacity and consent to treatment, withholding and withdrawing treatment, providing pain relief, urgent treatment, voluntary assisted dying, and common legal issues when caring for older people. Register for free on the ELLC website.

This training is accredited by the RACGP, CICM, ACEM and ACRRM. CPD hours may be claimed from your professional organisation. Certificates of completion are available.

Learn how the ELLC training can support general practices and aged care providers to meet quality standards and prepare for registration:

• Meeting Quality and Practice Standards in Primary and Community Care
• Meeting Quality and Safety Standards in Aged Care
• Meeting the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards: Outcome 5.7 Palliative care and End-of-life Care

Country SA PHN, Adelaide PHN and ELLC are partnering to deliver a free webinar for primary care and aged care health professionals on Wednesday 11 March 2026. The webinar will explore a clinical case study about a terminally ill older person and legal issues. For further information or to register your interest in attending contact [email protected].

Comprehensive online course to educate and empower healthcare providers to deliver end-of-life care in the home setting, with a special emphasis on serving regional and remote communities. For GPs, Nurses and Aged Care Workers. View the Palliative Medication Proficiency Flyer for more information.

Enrol now on the GPEx website.

Summit Health Connect Care Manager Bianca Hawkins and Care Finder Program Team Leader Helen Deguet recently travelled to Kangaroo Island (KI) to meet with local community members and service providers. The purpose of the visit was to gain insight and perspective into this unique region within our service area and further embed the care finder program.

Over the course of two days, Bianca and Helen engaged with key stakeholders to discuss local concerns, service gaps, and cultural nuances in the context of community health and aged care services. They met with the manager of the Kangaroo Island Health Service, which encompasses a 15-bed hospital, residential aged care home, and community health services. They also spoke with Matthew, the Manager of Community Health, who shared a powerful sentiment: “People here want to have their babies on the Island and die on the Island.” This statement reflects the deep cultural connection residents have to their home, while also highlighting the pressures placed on a modest health service and a limited local skillset in a geographically isolated area.

Matthew discussed challenges such as staff shortages and limited specialist visits, but also emphasised the resilience of the community - one that consistently “punches above its weight” and finds ways to support one another.

Helen also met with several community-minded individuals connected to groups such as Probus, Lions, the Parkinson’s support group, football clubs, and Carers SA. These meetings built on the strong foundation laid by KI-based care finder, Lois Wilson, who has spent over two decades living and working on the Island, including the past two years as part of the care finder team. Throughout the trip, it was clear that Lois is a well-respected and trusted member of the community.

Together, Bianca and Helen met with Maree from Junction Australia and the KI Community Centre. Maree also spoke of a resilient community that has faced many challenges, including emergency responses and ongoing efforts to connect with those most isolated. Her message was clear: a connected community is a strong community.

Despite some ups and downs with the weather—as with the ferry ride—the trip was considered a successful and enlightening experience. Many valuable connections were made, and existing partnerships were strengthened.

Care finder program is supported by funding from Country SA PHN through the Australian Government’s PHN Program.

To find out more about the care finder program, visit the Country SA PHN care finder web page, contact Summit Health, or connect with other commissioned care finder services across country South Australia.

On Saturday, 1 November 2025, the My Aged Care website launched an updated and fresh new look. If you have not visited the site recently, it’s worth checking out.

Care finder program lead, Helen Morley, said, “I particularly like the section on ‘Getting support to navigate aged care’ where all the various navigation supports including the care finder program are explained and made easily accessible”.

A new End-of-Life Pathway is also now available through My Aged Care. The information outlines options for community, as well as General Practitioners and Nurse Practitioners who may refer a patient to the end of life pathway.

If online is not your preference, the same information can be gained by:

• phoning My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or
• visiting or calling Services Australia, to connect with an Aged Care Specialist Officer on 1800 227 475.

Residential aged care homes (RACH) are communal environments where infections can spread rapidly. Vaccines are the best protection against serious illness and hospitalisation in older people. Vaccination helps in minimising transmission of vaccine-preventable diseases and protects residents, as well as staff, visitors, and the broader community.

On Saturday, 1 November 2025, the new Aged Care Act 2024 strengthened the requirement for residential aged care providers to provide access to recommended vaccinations for their residents. This includes vaccines such as influenza, COVID-19, shingles and pneumococcal.

As we approach the festive season, it’s important to make sure residents and staff in RACH keep up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination, as cases normally increase over this period. 

COVID-19 vaccines are free and recommended:

• every 6 months for people aged 75 and over
• every 12 months for people aged 65 to 74
• every 12 months for adults who are severely immunocompromised.
• you can have the COVID-19 vaccine even if you’ve recently had COVID-19

For more resources (including consumer resources), please refer COVID-19 vaccination information for residents of aged care homes. The National Immunisation Program Schedule highlights the recommended vaccines for residents and workers. There are also a range of eLearning modules and infographic sheets available on the Services Australia AIR eLearning website.

If you are experiencing any difficulties accessing vaccinations for your residential aged care home, please contact us at [email protected].

Have you registered your residential aged care facility for My Health Record?

My Health Record is a secure online summary of important patient health information. In aged care settings, authorised health and care teams can access the system to view and upload details for residents who have a record. Once connected to My Health record, authorised aged care staff can quickly access essential health information whenever it’s needed, thereby improving the overall quality of care provided.

Australian Digital Health agency has developed learning resources to get you started with My Health record An Introduction to My Health Record in aged care. If you need further support, please reach out to via email to [email protected].

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has developed a New Aged Care Act for aged care residents toolkit to help residential aged care providers to communicate with their residents about the New Aged Care Act  including in regards to Statement of Rights, complaints, Aged Care Quality Standards and contributions.

If you need further support, please reach out via [email protected].

The General Practice in Aged Care Incentive  program guidelines have been revised with two important eligibility updates. Practices operating under a Bulk Billing Practice Incentive accreditation exemption are not eligible to participate in the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive (GPACI) program, and the Department has removed the 12-month exclusion period for care planning services.