On 26 September 2025, the Minister for Health, Ryan Park, released the official response to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Delivery of Specific Health Services and Specialist Care in Remote, Rural and Regional NSW. This follows the Inquiry’s March 2025 report, which highlighted ongoing inequities across the state and called for a renewed focus on planning, data and workforce.
As outlined in our April article, several recommendations had significant implications for the palliative care sector, particularly Recommendations 13, 14 and 15. The Government’s response provides further clarity on how these areas will progress.
Targeted funding for regional NSW (Recommendation 13)
The Inquiry called for additional targeted funding to address long-standing inequities in regional, rural and remote communities. The Government has supported this recommendation, noting that all relevant Local Health Districts will receive additional annualised funding allocations for 2025–26 and 2026–27 under the existing World Class End of Life Care commitment.
It’s not clear if this annualised funding increase is new or as per previous funding increases announced. While it does not appear to be specific and targeted funding for regional NSW, the update confirms that LHDs have now submitted comprehensive funding plans outlining how the additional allocations will be used to improve service delivery, increase staffing and respond to unmet need. Several initiatives are already underway, including new palliative care units at Orange and Wyong Hospitals (2025–26) and Tamworth Hospital (2026–27), along with expanded training pathways such as HETI’s Certificate in Palliative Care scholarships in association with Flinders University.
Governance, data and statewide frameworks (Recommendation 14)
The Government’s response to Recommendation 14 acknowledges that two major projects are already in progress:
* The review of the NSW End of Life and Palliative Care Framework 2019–2024; and
* Development of foundational indicators for monitoring and reporting on palliative care services.
A new Framework Review Advisory Committee convened in May 2025, with broad sector representation, including Palliative Care NSW CEO, Kirsty Blades. The next iteration of the statewide Framework is expected to be published on the NSW Health End of Life and Palliative Care Framework webpage in early 2026.
The foundational indicators project, ‘Foundational Indicators for Monitoring and Reporting Palliative Care in Publicly Funded NSW Health Services’, is also underway, with a phased implementation planned over the next 12–18 months. These indicators will help improve consistency in how palliative care activity and quality are monitored across NSW Health services.
While the Inquiry’s findings highlighted the need for a dedicated Palliative Care Taskforce to improve oversight and data coordination, this was not included in the formal recommendations, and the NSW Government response does not address this issue.
Culturally safe care and Aboriginal community partnerships (Recommendation 15)
The Inquiry called for NSW Health to work with key Aboriginal stakeholders to ensure culturally safe end-of-life care in regional, rural and remote areas, including exploring funding for Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) to deliver palliative care services. The Government supported this recommendation, noting that Aboriginal Health Workers are already funded across all LHDs and specialty networks through the Improving Access in Palliative Care and More Choice in Palliative Care enhancement packages.
The response also highlights the End of Life and Palliative Care NGO Grants Program, which includes funding specifically for ACCHOs. Across the 2023–24 to 2026–27 cycle, $1.3 million has been provided to Waminda South Coast Women’s Health and Wellbeing Aboriginal Corporation and Bullinah Aboriginal Health Corporation to support community-led palliative care initiatives. The ongoing Framework review will include structured engagement with Aboriginal communities and incorporates Aboriginal representation through the Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council, the Centre for Aboriginal Health, and an Identified Aboriginal Senior Policy Officer to ensure culturally safe and trauma-informed planning.
Palliative Care NSW continues to play an active role in ensuring the sector’s voice is included in all the above planning. Reflecting on the Government’s response and the ongoing work of the Framework Review Advisory Committee, Palliative Care NSW CEO, Kirsty Blades said:
“While much of the Government’s response reflects work already underway, it’s encouraging to see a continued commitment to improving palliative care in regional, rural and remote NSW. However, I’m not sure the response reflects a strengthened or new commitment in light of the inquiry’s findings. As Palliative Care NSW outlined at the initial inquiry, while there has been progress made, that progress is slower than needed to meet rapidly growing demand with service gaps still remaining. The announcement of the NSW Government 2026-2027 budget will be telling. Will there be new targeted funding to improve palliative care in rural, regional and remote NSW?
Ongoing transparency around funding, data and governance will be essential, and PCNSW will continue to advocate to ensure these commitments translate into real actions and improvements for patients, families and the workforce.”
PCNSW will continue to provide updates to members as the Framework review progresses and as further information becomes available on the implementation of the foundational indicators.
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Written by Sarah Whiteley