Program

Program Updates

Please note the program, speaker and session details are subject to change. Please check this page regularly

Program Time Zone

The sessions are shown in Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) UTC +9:30.

Use a time zone converter to check your time: timeanddate.com

Thursday 11 June 2026

 

07:15–08:15 ICU Medical Sponsored BreakfastImage
Patient Controlled Analgesia in Palliative Care
Dr Caroline Phelan, Nurse Academic & Clinician, Senior Lecturer Flinders University 
07:30–16:45 Registration | Riverbank Foyer
08:30–09:15 Conference Opening
Room Riverbank Rooms 6, 7 & 8
Jean Kittson, MC
08:30–08:45 Welcome to Country
Jack Kanya Buckskin, Founder Kuma Kaaru Cultural Services
08:45–09:00 Welcome
Kate Swetenham, PCNA President
09:00–09:10 Welcome
Rochelle Griffin, SA Chief Nurse
09:10-09:15 Delegate Address from Platinum Partner – The Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death and Dying (RePaDD), Flinders University
Prof Jennifer Tieman, RePaDD Director
09:15–10:45 Plenary 1 – Holding onto Humanity: Workforce Wellbeing as the Foundation for Transformational Care
Room Riverbank Rooms 6, 7 & 8
Session Chair Jess Brown
09:15–10:15 Sense-making through Stories: What can we learn from our palliative care patients?
Dr Kathryn Mannix, Palliative Care Physician and Cognitive Behavioural Therapist
10:15–10:45 Panel Discussion | Perspectives of lived experience of palliative care
Maria Heaton, SESLHD Intellectual Disability Palliative Care Lead CNC &
Meg Brassil
10:45–11:15 Morning Tea, Exhibition & Poster Viewing | Riverbank Foyer
11:15–12:45 Plenary 2 – Policy Shifts and Their Impact on Palliative Care Access
Room Riverbank Rooms 6, 7 & 8
Session Chair Kate Swetenham
11:15-11:35 Key System Challenges: A National Policy Update
Josh Fear, National Policy Director, Palliative Care Australia
11:35-11:55 Key Developments in Aged Care Reform
Jane Pickering, CEO Eldercare
11:55-12:15 Navigating the End-of-Life Pathway – Home Care Provider, Dovida
Karen Conte, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Dovida Australia
12:15-12:20
12:20–13:20 Lunch, Exhibition & Poster Viewing | Riverbank Foyer 5–8
13:20–14:50 Concurrent Session 1 – 10 min. oral presentations with panel Q & A
Theme Acute Care Research & Quality Improvement Community Aged Care
Room Riverbank Rooms 6, 7 & 8 Riverbank Room 2 Riverbank Room 3 Riverbank Room 4
Session Chair Jess Brown Kate Swetenham Josh Cohen Karen Glaetzer
Co-Chair Jill Boyle Chelsea Sporn Frankie Devir Sarah Short
13:20–13:30

End-of-Life Essentials

Vanessa Heading, National Project Manager

Strengthening quality improvement through the updated National Palliative Care Standards and PaCSA tool

Kate Ritchie

Community pall care triage – reviewing and revamping an established practice

Renee Cooper, Sandra Sullivan

Advance care planning as a core innovation: Empowering aged care nurses for equitable end-of-life care

Gabrielle Raikiwasa

13:30–13:40

Embedding a palliative care nurse consultant within a General Medicine ward: A prospective observational study

Jianxia Zhai, Olivia Hamilton, Gillian Vesty, Rebecca Millar, Barbora de Courten

A decade of national data: Access to palliative care in Australia

Anita Hartati

Development of a terminal care planning checklist for nurses in the community

Jane Stephens

Workforce development in end-of-life care for advanced dementia: A tool for nurses

Carolyn Bourke

13:40–13:50

The Orange Heart Symbol Project: A regional initiative to enhance compassionate end-of-life care

Anny Byrne, Carol Barbeler

Building research capacity through co-design in a rapidly expanding specialist palliative care service

Kristen Ranse

Palliative care needs and support provided by Palliative Care Connect to individuals living alone

Amin Bahrami

Dignified and respectful decisions: Resources to connect conversations about care

Tiffany Button

13:50–14:00

Unavoidable yet under-recognised: Presence of Kennedy terminal ulcers in a major teaching hospital

Grace Edwards, Caroline Phelan

PCOC Version 4: Strengthening measurement in palliative care to advance equity and access

Anita Hartati, Kylie Draper, Sabina Clapham

Voices that matter: Consumer co-design driving systems change in community palliative care

Rebecca Brough

Effectiveness of a specialist palliative care nurse-led education program within residential aged care

Mika Musgrave-Takeda

14:00–14:10

Building confidence in end-of-life care: The PEACE Champions Program

Loretta Williams

University-industry partnership driving digital transformation in end-of-life care

Priyanka Vandersman

Understanding palliative care referrals from general practitioners: A multicentre retrospective cohort study

Animut Alebel Ayalew

Improving staff confidence in palliative care communication through a specialist nurse in residential aged care

Malena Rudolph

14:10–14:20

Measuring what matters: Implementing consideRATE in palliative care services

Mona Ramsay

Assessing the value of palliAGED resources

Jennifer Tieman

Palliative care in general practice quality improvement activity

Ros Kirk

Upholding personhood in dementia palliative care: Development of the end-of-life assessment tool for dementia

Carolyn Bourke

14:20–14:30

Documenting end-of-life family meetings in the patient’s medical notes in acute care

Elizabeth (Libby) Miller

Strengthening palliative care in rural communities: A global policy environmental scan

Claire Marshall

Palliative Care Connect: Supporting, understanding and uptake of the Support at Home program’s end-of-life pathway

Amber Bisset

Transforming end-of-life care: Nurses leading digital change in aged care homes

Priyanka Vandersman

14:30–14:40

The final chapter: Supporting patients, families and nurses

Grace Edwards, Megan Day

Perspectives of academic and clinical educators and project staff on evidence-based resources

Jennifer Tieman

Q&A with presenters & discussion time Q&A with presenters & discussion time
14:40–14:50 Q+A with presenters Q+A with presenters
14:50–15:20 Afternoon Tea, Exhibition & Poster Viewing | Riverbank Foyer 5–8
15:20 – 16:45 Plenary 3 – Innovative Models and Regional Leadership in Supportive Palliative Care
Room Riverbank Rooms 6, 7 & 8
Session Chair Kat Hooper
15:20–15:50 Enhancing Palliative Care Services in Rural Australia
Claire Marshall, Registered Nurse
15:50-16:30 From Local Realities to System Reform: Lessons from the Katherine Palliative Care Review
Amy Ward, Remote Generalist Speech Pathologist &
Rebecca Garner, Complex and Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Consultant
16:30 – 16:45 Day 1 Close
19:00–23:00 Conference Dinner | Panorama BallroomImage

Friday 12 June 2026

07:00–08:15 Early Palliative Care Career Nurses BreakfastImage
 Click here for details
07:30 – 17:00 Registration
08:30 – 09:15 Welcome to Day 2
Room Riverbank Rooms 6, 7 & 8
Jean Kittson, MC
08:30–08:45 Acknowledgement of Country
Kat Hooper, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership Team
Day 2 Welcome
Jean Kittson, MC
08:45–09:15 Restoring Public Understanding of ‘Ordinary Dying’
Dr Kathryn Mannix, Palliative Care Physician and Cognitive Behavioural Therapist
09:15–10:45 Plenary 4 – Clinical Pearls in Palliative Care: Updates for Everyday Practice
Room Riverbank Rooms 6, 7 & 8
Session Chair Sarah Begley
09:15-09:45 The biology of pain: Advancing symptom control through receptor-based insights
Dr Caroline Phelan, Nurse Academic & Clinician, Senior Lecturer Flinders University
09:45-10:15 The science and solutions of nausea: Etiology, assessment, and treatment strategies
Jen McKenzie, Nurse Practitioner (MLHD)
10:15-10:45 Constipation in Palliative Care: Understanding Causes and Delivering Effective Relief
Josh Cohen, Nurse Practitioner (Northern NSW LHD)
10:45–11:15 Morning Tea, Exhibition & Poster Viewing | Riverbank Foyer 5–8
11:15–12:30 Concurrent Session 2 – 10 min. oral presentations & 5 min. Q & A
Theme Cultural Safety Regional, Rural & Remote Advance Care Planning Clinical Care
Room Riverbank Rooms 6, 7 & 8 Riverbank Room 2 Riverbank Room 3 Riverbank Room 4
Session Chair Kylie Draper Kat Hooper Maria Heaton Claudia Virdun
Co-Chair Frankie Devir Rebecca Garner Sarah Short Megan Day
11:15–11:30

Caring together: Co-designing a culturally safe paediatric palliative care resource

Alessia Aielli

Breaking barriers: Delivering a teletrial for medicinal cannabis to regional, rural and remote Queensland

Georgie Hugget

VAD discussions as an entry point to end-of-life dialogue in hard-to-reach chronic disease populations

Rebecca Disler

Multidisciplinary approach to reviewing falls in community palliative care: Falls huddle

Anthony Evangelista, Allend Viyar

11:30–11:45

Culturally informed inquiry: Methodological approaches to end-of-life research with culturally diverse participants

Jay Balante

Can a virtual palliative care consult service provide equity for rural palliative care?

Eithne Moriarty, Di Savage

Using resuscitation plans to engage clinicians in advance care planning – changing culture by changing practice

Maree White

A survey of nurses regarding medication orders for potential catastrophic events in palliative care patients

Julia Jaensch

11:45–12:00

Exploring African migrants’ transnational journeys and end-of-life planning in Australia, through a substantive grounded theory

Gertrude Phiri

When every call counts: Insights from outer regional palliative patients accessing Palliative Care Connect

Amin Bahrami

NFR orders: A patchwork of policies and a puzzle for clinicians

Grace Edwards

Activating ‘Code Dying’: Connecting Nurse-Led Research with Bedside Reality – a Case-Study

Ms Tricia O’Connor

12:00–12:15

Why Japanese patients struggle to make end-of-life decisions: Insights from nurses on cultural influences

Yumi Naito

Nurse-led models-of-care facilitating timely access to palliative care in regional and remote settings

Joshua Cohen

Busting advance care planning myths one quiz question at a time

Kylie Ash

Pressure injuries in acute palliative patients: Understanding characteristics and risk factors to strengthen nursing practice

Saroeun Ven

12:15–12:30

More than a transfer: Bridging cultures with compassionate care

Sanam Nghi, Michelle Bui

Creating paediatric end-of-life capacity in a regional hospital setting

Gail McGlinn

When care meets choice behind bars: Integrating palliative care and VAD pathways in prisons

Cassandra Radford, Andrew Wiley

Discussion time
12:30–13:30 Lunch, Exhibition & Poster Viewing | Riverbank Foyer 5–8
PCNA Annual General Meeting
13:30–14:45 Concurrent Session 3 – 15 min. oral presentations with panel Q & A
Theme Education Paediatrics Acute Care The Heart of Palliative Care
Room Riverbank Rooms 6, 7 & 8 Riverbank Room 2 Riverbank Room 3 Riverbank Room 4
Session Chair Holly Pitt Jen McKenzie Jess Brown Kathryn Bennett
Co-Chair Megan Day Rebecca Garner Jill Boyle Frankie Devir
13:30–13:45

Communication skills e-module for palliative care nurses- improving access and impact

Sue Morris

Overcoming barriers: A model of paediatric palliative care provision utlising an ‘in-home’ model of care

Jill Carter

Orchestrating transitions: A micro theory exploring the nurse’s role in curative-to- palliative transitions in advanced cancer

Geya George

The Shared Crossing Project- Exploring shared death experiences

Melanie Oborne

13:45–14:00

Educate, empower evolve: Education redesign to improve palliative care nursing practice

Janice Bartley, Abbey Franz

Equal voices, shared wisdom: A co-design approach to paediatric palliative care guidelines

Sara Fleming

Facilitating innovation based on patient reported experience of care quality – implementing the LEAP bundle

Claudia Virdun

Manager’s views on staff grief and the pilot-tested grief support program

Kaori Shimoinaba

14:00–14:15

Learning needs of experienced nurses: A palliative care perspective

Peter Cleasby

Exploring grief in Australian paediatric nurses: Experiences, impacts and utilisation of support strategies

Dinar Perwitasari

Feasibility and acceptability of using consideRATE in acute hospital settings for dying patients

Melissa Bruno

The lived experience of registered nurses providing palliative care in the community: A phenomenological study

Emily Weston

14:15–14:30

Measuring confidence: Implementing the skills matrix in the transition to specialist palliative care in Gippsland

Anny Byrne, Carol Barbeler

Supporting families living with paediatric life-limiting conditions: Insights from clinical practice and lived experience

Maria Heaton

The impact of patient deaths on acute care clinicians: A scoping review to inform support

Dr Raechel Damarell

Non-medical environment and professional context factors impacting person-centred care in prison: A qualitative study

Isabelle Schaefer

14:45–15:15 Afternoon Tea, Exhibition & Poster Viewing | Riverbank Foyer 5–8
15:15–16:45 Plenary 5 – Equity in Action: Experiences from Underserved Communities
Room Riverbank Rooms 6, 7 & 8
Session Chair Kylie Draper
15:15-15:45 NATSIPCA You can’t ask that panel discussion
Stephen Christian, Cindy Paardekooper, Wayne Christian, Tanya Antaw – NATSIPCA Directors
15:45-16:05 Creating safe and supportive homes: Palliative care in supported disability accommodation
Maria Heaton, SESLHD Intellectual Disability Palliative Care Lead CNC
Kristy Engisch, RN, Disability Provider
16:05-16:20 Nurses’ experiences balancing personal, cultural and professional values in palliative care.
Jay Balante, Registered Nurse, University of Sydney
16:20-16:40 Helping carers find their voice in song and advocacy (including performance)
The Caring Choir
16:40–17:00 Conference Closing