Building stronger communities through connection, collaboration and action
Compassionate Communities Australia is a national charity strengthening community-led approaches to caring, ageing, serious illness, dying and grief.
We work alongside communities, health services, governments, researchers, organisations and people with lived experience to build stronger local networks of care, strengthen community capability and create lasting systems change across Australia.
WHY WE EXIST
Strengthening the role communities already play
Every day, Australians support family members, friends, neighbours and colleagues through illness, caregiving, ageing, dying and grief.
Much of this care happens quietly in homes, workplaces and communities, often without recognition or support.
At the same time, health and aged care services continue to face increasing demand. While these services provide essential clinical care, they cannot meet every social, emotional and practical need people experience throughout life’s most challenging moments.
Compassionate Communities Australia exists to strengthen the capability of communities to work alongside formal services, creating more connected, confident and supportive environments for everyone.
OUR ROLE
Connecting evidence, people and practice
Rather than delivering direct care, Compassionate Communities Australia builds the knowledge, partnerships and capability that help communities and services work better together.
We strengthen community-led approaches through:
- Australia’s Community Resource Hub
- The Compassionate Connector Program
- Community of Practice
- National advocacy
- Research and evidence
- Cross-sector partnerships
- Death and grief literacy
- Community-led innovation
Together, these activities help create stronger, more connected communities across Australia.
OUR APPROACH
Communities and services working together
We believe the strongest outcomes are achieved when communities and formal services work in partnership.
Health and aged care services provide essential clinical care.
Communities provide connection, relationships, practical support and belonging.
Neither replaces the other.
Together, they create stronger, more resilient systems that improve the lives of individuals, families and communities.
Everything we do is grounded in evidence, informed by lived experience and strengthened through collaboration.
PART OF A GLOBAL MOVEMENT
Local action with international foundations
Community-led approaches to caring, dying and grief are growing around the world.
The Compassionate Communities movement emerged from public health research pioneered in Australia by Professor Allan Kellehear and has since become an internationally recognised approach to strengthening community wellbeing.
Compassionate Communities Australia builds on this strong foundation by connecting knowledge, supporting collaboration and helping communities across Australia turn evidence into practical action.
Our focus is not to replicate what already exists, but to strengthen it—bringing together research, lived experience and local innovation so communities can learn from one another and build lasting change.
NATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Strengthening communities across Australia
Communities throughout Australia are already finding innovative ways to support people through ageing, caregiving, serious illness, dying and grief.
Our role is to connect these efforts, share what works and make knowledge more accessible.
By bringing together evidence, practical resources, national programs, advocacy and partnerships, we help create the conditions for local solutions to flourish and community capability to grow.
Behind this work is a dedicated team and a growing network of organisations committed to strengthening community-led approaches across Australia.
OUR VISION
A future where no one faces life’s hardest moments alone
We envision an Australia where every community has the confidence, knowledge and partnerships needed to support people through caring, ageing, serious illness, dying and grief.
Where communities and formal services work side by side.
Where connection is recognised as an essential part of wellbeing.
And where every person feels supported by the people and places around them.
LEARN MORE
Discover our work
Learn more about the people, partnerships and national programs helping build stronger communities across Australia.
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
Help strengthen communities across Australia
Whether you’re looking for practical resources, exploring partnership opportunities, supporting research or investing in community-led change, we’d love to connect.
Together, we can build stronger communities that complement Australia’s health and aged care systems and ensure more people are supported through caring, ageing, dying and grief.
Compassionate Communities Australia is the national organisation building community capability through advocacy, practical resources, partnerships and community-led action.
