This article on advance care directives has been updated on August 5, 2022. Advance care directives are evolving – and there’s so much more to know beyond the usual questions of “Do I need to have an advanced care directive?” and “Who needs to know about it?” For example how … Read more
This article was updated 3 August, 2022. Palliative care advocates, this one’s for you, as a new palliative care community of practice has been announced by NSW Health. And what’s better, they are calling for participants for their palliative care community of practice. This is incredibly important work as Covid … Read more
This article was updated on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. If someone witnesses my will being signed by Skype, is that valid? Yes, to witness a will via technology is now valid. Video conferencing technology like Skype, WhatsApp, FaceTime and Zoom can now be used in NSW in the witnessing of … Read more
We’re shouting out about ‘A Community Undertaking’, featuring a great innovation in funerals on ABC’s Australian Story tomorrow night. One of our first discoveries when we started Good Grief! was Tender Funerals of Port Kembla. It’s raw, rich and true to community. And this refreshing way of managing funerals is … Read more
This story first appeared in the June 16, 2022 issue of our Good Grief! newsletter. What is pharmacy’s role in improving palliative care? A vital one, according to those who know. We’ve talked a lot in these pages about the need to improve access to palliative care and a 2022 … Read more
I was thrilled last night to be able to deliver an important talk, during Australia’s National Palliative Care Week, asking why we allow pain management at death to be so badly handled in our culture. The coincidence that I delivered my talk during this week was important to me. Eighty-five … Read more
(First published in the Good Grief May newsletter.) While most Australians want to have control over their end-of-life, including not having life- prolonging treatment, still today, too few people empower themselves by taking the practical steps to make this happen. Only 14 per cent of people over the age of … Read more
Picaluna Funerals does things differently and Good Grief! loves this. It’s great when you get to talk with others in the ‘death’ space working to improve our culture’s approach. Last month I was invited by Picaluna CEO Greg Inglis to speak to 22 Picaluna inductee funeral celebrants about Good Grief! … Read more
The Australian Federal Election was officially called today and last week HammondCare’s CEO Mike Baird issued a challenge to the Federal Government to match Labor’s pledge to improve aged care workforce wages. HammondCare provides aged care in Australia. Mike Baird is the former Liberal Premier of NSW. Mike’s involvement keeps … Read more
by Olivia Loukas Legacy writing – also known as biography or life writing – is a way of documenting someone’s life story, in their own words, before they die. It can take various forms and is, by its nature, a deeply personal and spiritual process. Our article about the legacy … Read more
After three decades working at Wollongong City Council’s memorial gardens and cemeteries, Operations Manager John Chilby has told the Illawarra Mercury he’s lost count of the times he’s seen families broken by misunderstandings when someone dies. “It causes more grief and break-ups between families, so we want to try and … Read more
Updated 15 March, 2022. Aged Care Reform Now (ACRN) asked if we would give their ‘13 questions – where do you stand on aged care’ campaign some publicity. It’s a year since the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety – but there hasn’t been enough improvement to aged … Read more
It’s great to be doing live events again! People ask so many interesting questions. “Is a will a legal document?” someone asked the last time I stood on a podium, just before Covid-19 hit. The lawyers in the room were surprised. For them it was ‘Legal Studies – 101.’ But … Read more
By Julia Grieves For anyone who’s been pregnant, especially for the first time, the looming reality of giving birth becomes an event etched into the calendar of one’s future. For most however, unless undergoing a booked in C-section, there is no clear grasp of exactly when this event will occur, … Read more
“Okay, what do you call ‘a good death?’,” Kerri-Anne Kennerley asked. Kerri-Anne was asking pertinent questions – prompted by her own painful experience and this has become one of my favourite interviews. Kerri-Anne’s beloved husband John Kennerley had only died four months before, in February 2019, following a long illness … Read more