Aged Care, Older People and Palliative Care - September 2025

The Elder Care Support (ECS) Program is a free, culturally safe service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 and over. Funded by the Commonwealth through NACCHO, ECS is delivered through Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and is expanding from 250 to 350 FTEs nationally by the end of 2025.

ECS workers walk alongside Elders and their families, helping navigate My Aged Care, provide support during aged care assessments, understand home care options, and connect with trusted, culturally safe service providers. Whether transitioning from hospital to home or accessing aged care for the first time, Elders receive coordinated, locally tailored support.

In South Australia, ECS is delivered by 10 Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations across metro, regional, and remote areas. The workforce is supported by the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia (AHCSA) and the South Australian West Coast ACCHO Network (SAWCAN), who work collaboratively with PHNs and the care finder program.

Helen Morley, care finder program lead, at Country SA PHN said “the rapport and collaboration that has developed between the care finder program and ECS in South Australia has been phenomenal, and we look forward to continuing this as both programs further evolve”

Elders have the choice to engage with either ECS or care finder services, and where ECS is unavailable, they may be eligible for care finder support.

Find your local ECS via Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia  or view the National List.

Note: If referring an Elder to the program, please ensure you have their permission and contact the ECS organisation directly.

Article compiled by Emma Tahuri, Manager Sector Intelligence, Innovation, Evidence and Reform, Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia.

Course available: ‘Palliative Medication Proficiency: Mastering Syringe Drivers and Opioid Administration in Home Settings’

Are you a healthcare professional who wishes to improve their knowledge around palliative care medication, including regarding opioid prescribing?

Consider registering for the Country SA PHN-funded course, ‘Palliative Medication Proficiency: Mastering Syringe Drivers and Opioid Administration in Home Settings’. This course is available free-of-charge via the GPEx website.

The course includes content on the management of side effects, legal and safety related topics. A module titled ‘Initiating Subcutaneous Medications’ is also included in the course, which is useful for primary care prescribers.

As described on the GPEx website, the program is designed 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”.

Learn more or register

PalliLEARN’s friendly, one-hour courses make it easier to understand and talk about serious illness, dying, death, and grief. You’ll pick up practical ideas, everyday language, and the confidence to have these important conversations — and everyone’s welcome.

If you live or work in the country SA region, you can join in for free. Thanks to funding from Country SA PHN under the Greater Choice for At Home Palliative Care program, Palliative Care South Australia is delivering these sessions online at no cost.

Upcoming topics include:

• Palliative caring – Learn key aspects of palliative care so you can explain it to friends, family, and your community.
• Your role in a compassionate community - Practical ideas to support people experiencing serious illness, dying, death, and grief.
• How to nurture compassion – Recognising suffering and responding in ways that reduce it.
• Conversations about dying and grief – Tips for caring, honest conversations with loved ones and colleagues.
• Talking to children about dying – How to have open, age-appropriate conversations about illness, dying, and grief.
• What matters most to me – Exploring what and who we value, using discussion starters and advance care planning to understand what’s most important at the end of life.
• Caring for yourself – Practical strategies to maintain your own wellbeing while supporting others, because you can’t pour from an empty cup.

Country SA PHN was proud to be recognised by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing for the care finder Housing and Homelessness Education Module initiated by Country SA PHN care finder lead Helen Morley.

The Department described the initiative as a 'fantastic training package', encouraging all PHNs to be familiar with this and another resource, with these described as providing 'wonderful insights that could be of use in your region'.

Helen recognised that older people experiencing homelessness need their housing concerns addressed before they can access aged care services and care finders can assist the person with these processes. The training program assists the care finder workforce to up-skill their understanding and navigation of the homelessness sector to support vulnerable older people.

Country SA PHN extends its appreciation to GPEx for designing and hosting this invaluable education package, and thanks the Country North Homelessness Alliance for their subject matter input into content creation.

Register for the education module today