Find practical help when caring for someone at the end of life

This is an ever-growing list of services to support you as you care for a loved one or manage your grief.

Palliative care Australia –  a multidisciplinary health care approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing a life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering and the treatment of pain and other physical, psychosocial and spiritual problems

Carer Gateway Australia – find information and services on home, community or center-based services that provide care so that primary caregivers can get the help they need including:

• Respite care - You can arrange respite and other services as and when you need them or at a regular cadence
• Transport services – assistance transporting patients to the doctor, hospital or other locations in suitably equipped vehicles; some require payment, while others are free of charge
• Community nursing – comprehensive nursing care (health assessment, wound management, palliative care, continence care and stomal therapy) provided at clinics in community health centres or in the client’s home. A referral from your GP is required to access these services
• Equipment – specialised equipment or aids to help you care at home; talk to your GP or local health service about how to access these. Some disease-specific organisations also loan or hire equipment
• Financial support – one-off or ongoing government-funded financial assistance (such as the Carer Payment and Carer Allowance) for people who provide daily care to someone who has an illness, disability or is ‘frail aged’. The Commonwealth Government’s Department of Human Services also offers financial support for medical equipment and incontinence products (see www.humanservices.gov.au for details)
  
  

Dementia Support Australia -  free, evidence-based support nationwide, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for people with a loved one with dementia.

Old Person's Advocacy Network (OPAN) - In addition to information and resources for older Australians, OPAN has a Self-Advocacy Toolkit that equips people with the skills needed to speak up for better-aged care.

Young Carers Network - The Young Carers Network is an initiative by Carers Australia, they represent Australia’s unpaid carers and advocate on their behalf to influence policies and services at a national level.

Working Carers Gateway - Work and study assistance – information and resources for people who are trying to balance caring with work and study. See the 

BetterHelp  – private and affordable counselling from licensed, professional therapists

Better Care – local care and support workers available for hire for people who are ageing or those who have a disability

Hireup and Mabel – disability support workers available for hire

Airtasker – people you can hire for home and office tasks, from handyman services and garden maintenance to pick-up and deliveries

Australian Death Notification Service -  A free government initiative to help people get in touch with multiple organisations using a single online notification.

National Association for Loss + Grief - information, resources and tools to help you learn about your grief and how to manage it.