Bellarine Community Health’s (BCH) dedicated community palliative care team has been named a finalist at the 2025 National Palliative Care Awards.
BCH’s nomination is one of three finalists in the ‘Outstanding Work by a Team delivering Palliative Care’ category.
The team consists of four specialist palliative care nurses, a social worker, an occupational therapist and manager.
“We are incredibly honoured to be recognised alongside major health institutions,” BCH community nursing and palliative care manager Jacob Miller said.
“This nomination reflects our team’s unwavering commitment to ensuring every person receives compassionate, dignified care at the end of life.”
The team’s selection as a finalist recognises several key achievements including supporting approximately 60 percent of clients to die at home through their community-based model of care, a figure well above the national average.
Recently the team navigated difficult logistics to support a patients’ wishes to spend his final moments overlooking the beach. This was the first time the team had supported the Voluntary Assisted Dying process in a public space.
There are a total of 24 finalists across eight award categories. The awards, run by Palliative Care Australia, celebrate excellence, innovation, and leadership across
Australia’s palliative care sector.
The award winners will be announced at a ceremony in Brisbane on September 11 as part of the 2025 Oceanic Palliative Care Conference. Members of the BCH Palliative Care team will be in attendance thanks to a grant from the Barwon South Western Region Palliative Care Consortium.
