CCAus Forum Media Alert

Thought leaders and community advocates will speak at this year’s Compassionate Communities Australia (CCAus) National Forum, championing collective action to drive system change and embed compassion across all settings — from homes to workplaces, local government, health care and aged care services. The Forum will highlight national, community-led initiatives advocating for compassionate approaches to caring, dying, and grieving.

Professor Samar Aoun AM, Chair of Compassionate Communities Australia, 2023 Australian of the Year Western Australia and Perron Institute Research Chair in Palliative Care at the University of Western Australia, said the Forum reflects the escalating need for compassionate community-led approaches to care, since formal systems alone cannot sustainably support people through illness, ageing, end of life, dying and grieving.

“Palliative care-related hospitalisations have doubled, and with Australia’s ageing population, the number of deaths is expected to double over the next 20 years, with no possible resources available to match these needs,” said Professor Aoun. “Now is the time to make end-of-life care more inclusive, compassionate, community-driven, and truly accessible for everyone, everywhere.”

“Adopting a Compassionate Communities approach to care recognises that it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that when caregiving, dying and grieving knocks at our door, wherever we are, whoever we are — compassionate support can be found in all aspects of our life and death,” Professor Aoun said.

Professor Aoun shared that by the end of the Forum, key actions will be identified to strengthen and sustain Compassionate Communities in Australia, foster innovation in systems to better support community-led care, and clarify who needs to partner with community to drive collective change.

Keynote speakers and presenters from across Australia, representing clinical, government, academic, and nonprofit sectors, will present during the first half of the Forum. The Forum will also welcome international special guests: Professor Allan Kellehear OBE (Compassionate Communities UK and Northumbria University) and Professor Luc Deliens (Public Health Palliative Care International and VUB Compassionate University of Brussels).

In the afternoon all attendees will spend time collaborating through roundtable discussions and creative activities and have the opportunity to share, reflect, and design compassionate care pathways to support communities and their families.

CCAus is encouraging community members from diverse backgrounds and sectors to attend — health professionals, carers, aged care providers, the palliative care sector, local government representatives, workplace leaders, advocates for compassionate communities, practitioners, support workers, policy makers, volunteers, and members of the wider community. Visit Humanitix to register.

Media contact: To RSVP attendance, coordinate interviews, or for more information, contact Cherelle Danker on 0450 451 058