The hardest thing we have ever done - Palliative Care Australia

Acknowledgments
Palliative Care Australia thanks the following members of the National Inquiry into The
Social Impact of Caring for Terminally Ill People Working Party:
• Professor Linda Kristjanson Chair from October 2003
• Professor Allan Kellehear Chair from March to September 2003
• Professor David Currow Vice Chair
• Dr Paul Dunne
© Palliative Care Australia
This work is copyright. Apart from
any use permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968, no part of this
work may be reproduced without
prior written permission from
Palliative Care Australia.
Requests and enquiries concerning
reproduction and rights should be
directed to:
The Executive Director,
Palliative Care Australia,
PO Box 24, Deakin West ACT 2602.
A complete list of Palliative Care
Australia’s publications is available
at our website: www.pallcare.org.au.
• Dr Peter Hudson
• Mr John Rosenberg
• Ms Margaret Box
• Dr Samar Aoun
• Ms Tonia Barnes
Members of the Working Party gave freely of their valuable time to ensure the quality
of this Report.
Palliative Care Australia acknowledges the material support of the Australian Government
Department of Health and Ageing through the National Palliative Care Program, which made
possible the Literature Review that forms the first part of this Report.
Lastly, and most importantly, Palliative Care Australia thanks those carers who provided
such moving and informative submissions to the National Inquiry. This information grounded
and enriched the Working Party’s work.
Any enquiries about or comments on
this publication should be directed to:
The Executive Director,
Palliative Care Australia,
PO Box 24, Deakin West ACT 2602.
Phone 02 6232 4433
ISBN 0-9752295-0-8
The Hardest Thing We Have Ever
Done - The Social Impact of Caring
for Terminally Ill People in
Australia 2004: Full Report of the
National Inquiry into the Social
Impact of Caring for Terminally Ill
People
Published by Palliative Care Australia
May 2004
Design: Design Edge
Palliative Care Australia adopted 'Purple Patchwork Quilt' as the graphic identity for our carers
program. The Quilt was designed by Anji Hill, who writes:
'The patches of the quilt represent interconnectedness, community, parts making up a whole,
and the empty square shows the importance of each part in that whole. The eye comes to rest
on the absent square, (which) represents the unknown beyond this life.'
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THE HARDEST THING WE HAVE EVER DONE: The Social Impact of Caring for Terminally Ill People in Australia, 2004