Developing your skills
There are a number of ways that health professionals can enhance their understanding and skills in providing culturally responsive palliative care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
Education and training options
- You can attend training opportunities made available within your health service or through your professional associations. You can apply for a PEPA placement (as described in the Developing your Knowledge and Skills section within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Care).
- PEPA and reverse-PEPA placement schemes and culture-centred care workshop
- PCC4U palliative care curriculum module on Caring for Aboriginal people with life-limiting conditions
- This includes a case story video ‘Tom’s Story’.
- Medicare Australia provides an eLearning program about Indigenous health services which introduces the range of Medicare services that support Indigenous health
- CareSearch Education Section, with Whole of Workforce framework and listings of short courses, workshops, and web-based learning
- Options for education more broadly on culturally responsive health care can be found in the Developing your Knowledge and Skills section within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Care section.
Policy and guidelines
- IPEPA’s Cultural Considerations Providing end-of-life care for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples (3.40MB pdf) provides essential information for health professionals that will enable them to deliver the best cultural care during the end of life journey for Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people.
- Sad news, sorry business: Guidelines for caring for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through death and dying (1.02MB pdf) from Queensland Health.
Practical resources for you
- Watch the video ‘Tom’s Story‘ from the PCC4U palliative care curriculum module on Caring for Aboriginal people with life-limiting conditions
- Palliative Care Victoria have several valuable resources for health professionals about caring for Aboriginal Australians
- In the Patient Diversity section of the CareSearch Nurses section, there is information regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- In the Understanding Diverse Populations section of CareSearch you can find more resources relevant to Indigenous Australians and aged care
- In palliAGED, you can find out more information on how careworkers can provide culturally appropriate care by viewing the Practice Tip Sheets on Culturally Responsive Care and on talking with our First Australians in aged care.
Resources for your patients and their family
The Patients, Families and Community Journeys section within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Care section has a range of resources that you can print for your patients and their families on many different topics. You can also suggest that patients and their family and community members visit the section of the CareSearch website themselves.
Last updated 15 June 2026