News

The Palliative Care NSW State Conference will return to Sydney for the first time in 12 years, hosted at the Sydney Masonic Centre from Monday 19 October to Wednesday 21 October 2026.

Bringing together clinicians, researchers, volunteers, community leaders and service providers from across NSW, Palliative Care NSW is now seeking presentations and speakers that will inspire, inform and engage conference delegates. Submissions are welcome from across NSW, nationally and internationally.

If you are a palliative care volunteer or volunteer manager, we warmly invite you to share your experiences and insights by submitting an abstract.

Why Volunteer Voices Matter

Volunteers are essential to the delivery of compassionate, person‑centred palliative care. From providing companionship and practical support to helping families navigate grief and loss, volunteer contributions deeply shape the care experience.

The Palliative Care NSW State Conference is a platform to:

• Highlight the unique role of volunteers in palliative care
• Share successful programs and referral pathways
• Explore challenges faced by volunteer services and how they are being addressed
• Inspire others through real‑world stories, learning and lived experience

Whether your service supports people in metropolitan Sydney or in rural, regional or remote communities, your perspective matters.

You Don’t Have to Be an Academic to Present

Presentations can be practice‑based, reflective or innovative. If you’ve:

• Led or supported a volunteer initiative
• Improved access to volunteer services
• Responded to a community need
• Learned important lessons from lived experience

Take the Next Step

Submitting an abstract is an opportunity to:

• Elevate volunteer contributions
• Influence practice and policy
• Inspire change across services and communities

Key themes relevant to volunteering

Abstract submissions are invited across a range of conference themes, with the following areas particularly relevant to volunteering:

Palliative Care and the Ageing Population

• Dying at home when living alone

Inclusive and Equitable Palliative Care

• Understanding, respecting and caring for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities
• Palliative care for the LGBTQ+ community
• Culturally appropriate care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• Caring for the carer
• Identifying and supporting unmet palliative care needs in our communities

Person and Family‑Centred Holistic Care

• Benefits of a multidisciplinary team approach
• Grief and bereavement support, including anticipatory grief
• Volunteers and the essential role they play in holistic care
• Improving access to palliative care volunteers
• Volunteer referral pathways
• Documenting care preferences
• Spiritual and pastoral care

Caring in the Community Setting

• Addressing social isolation
• Palliative care in regional, rural and remote areas
• At home or in hospital – meeting an individual’s preference

Workforce Resilience and Sustainability

• Addressing burnout
• Supporting volunteer wellbeing and retention

Palliative Care and Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD)

• Improving communication and continuity of care between settings

Inspire the Way We Care

Share what you are doing and how your work inspires, informs or challenges the palliative care landscape now and into the future.

Wildcard

Have a project, program, innovation, case study or challenge that doesn’t neatly fit within the themes above? We still want to hear from you. Submit under our Wildcard category and tell us why your work matters.

We encourage anyone working as or with volunteers to consider submitting an abstract and adding your voice to this important conversation.

Abstract submissions are now open, for more information and key dates, please click here.