Aged Care, Older People and Palliative Care - February 2026

Country SA PHN care finder lead Helen Morley was pleased to attend the Elder Care Support State Yarning Circle late last year on Boandik Country in Mt Gambier. This three-day event brought together key presenters, Elder Care support staff and local care finders, including care finders Michelle Holman from Resthaven and Kira Thomson from Focus One Health.

Discussion focused on collaboration between care finders, Elder Care support coordinators and other key stakeholders, like Pangula Mannamurna, who together work towards improving aged care services for people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Visit the Country SA PHN care finder web page for more information on how to contact a care finder service near you or AHCSA website for more information about the Elder Care Support Program.

The care finder program is supported by funding from Country SA PHN.

Country SA PHN care finder lead Helen Morley was warmly welcomed by FocusOne Health when she recently visited their care finder team in Berri, Riverland.

Helen was able to gain an appreciation of their great work helping community members navigate and access aged care services.

Helen also visited General Practices across the Riverland to drop off resources promoting the Medicare Mental Health National Phone Service, as well as speaking to general practice staff about the care finder program.

Visit the Country SA PHN care finder web page for information on the care finder program and how to contact your nearest service in country South Australia.

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

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia is conducting an interactive online session to learn more about the Aged Care Onsite Pharmacist (ACOP) program — what it means for your residential aged care home, and how pharmacists and aged care providers can work together to provide the best care for residents.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday 24 February 2026, 12.00pm - 1.00pm.

This meeting is free for country SA residential aged care staff and pharmacists. For any queries prior to the session, please email [email protected].

Register for the meeting

The GNC Leadership course supports registered nurses working in aged care to build confidence, strengthen competence, and progress their nursing careers in the aged care sector.

It’s designed to enhance clinical expertise, build leadership skills and improve capacity to deliver high-quality care for older people. The course is open to registered nurses in aged care, nurse practitioners and virtual eHealth nurses supporting older people and aged care providers.

This course is delivered as part of the GNC ACTTP and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

Visit the ADHERe website to learn more about the program and enrol.

March registrations are now open.

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has published a fact sheet highlighting the way changes in the compliance rating for star ratings are calculated.

Star Ratings help older people understand the quality of care at residential aged care homes, with each home given an Overall Star Rating, as well as ratings allocated for four sub-categories: residents’ experience, compliance, staffing and quality measures.

On 1 November 2025, Star Ratings changed to a redesigned compliance rating, including: graded assessment against the strengthened Aged Card Quality Standards and new regulatory decisions and powers from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

Visit the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website for more information about these changes.

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 when required.

For more information go to the Australian Digital Health Agency Online Learning Portal or view the section on My Health Record on the Country SA PHN Digital Health web page.

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

Country SA PHN recognises this is a busy time of year for general practices, so we’d like to highlight the following resources that may be helpful while settling new registrars into your practice and workflows:

• CDM Plus - a staff training provider that provides resources for the primary healthcare, aged and community, and disability sectors, including: webinars, HMMR, CCM, GPACI, First Nations health Assessments and QI including a Health promotion calendar. Country SA PHN can offer one CDM Plus corporate membership per practice. For more information or to send in an EOI, email us at [email protected].

• PalliLEARN - Palliative Care SA - provides courses around community knowledge and literacy across death, compassion and community capacity, in relation to serious illness, death and grief. The courses are available to community members.

• Palliative Medication Proficiency Mastering Syringe Drivers and Opioid Administration in Home Settings - is a comprehensive free online course to educate and empower healthcare providers to deliver end-of-life care in the home setting, particularly in regional and remote communities.

• Healthpathways – is an online portal that provides GPs and other health professionals with easy access to comprehensive, evidence-based assessment, management and localised referral resources for specific health conditions. Clinicians with an individual HealthPathways account can access a CPD Reporting tool to help log their HealthPathways CPD activity.

• Care finder – is a service that provides a network of staff across country South Australia to assist older people find health solutions. Organisations like Country & Outback Health, FocusOne Health, iReach Rural Health, Summit Health and Resthaven have been commissioned by Country SA PHN, in line with care finder policy guidance provided by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

These resources are available to support general practice staff when required.