When a university proposes to close its palliative care programs, the impact is never just about buildings, budgets or course lists. It lands in hospital wards, in aged care homes, in lounge rooms and at bedsides where people are doing the tender work of caring for someone who is dying.
Recently the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) recently announced a proposed major restructure that would close its Schools of Education and Public Health and discontinue 167 courses and 1,100 subjects. Among those at risk are postgraduate studies in public health, palliative care, health services management and diabetes education. These are not fringe offerings. They are part of the backbone of Australia’s health and wellbeing.
The decision has been described as a step toward “operational sustainability” in response to a very real budget shortfall of around 100 million dollars. Universities are under pressure, and UTS is not alone in this. At the same time, many people across the health and community sectors are deeply concerned about what this proposal signals for the future of care.
These courses do more than produce graduates. They hold and grow the knowledge, research and leadership that sit underneath compassionate, equitable care, including at the end of life.
If UTS proceeds with closing its palliative care programs, Australia will lose one of only a small number of universities that offer dedicated postgraduate palliative care education. For health professionals in New South Wales and beyond, an already narrow pathway to specialisation will shrink even further.
Public health and palliative education are not expendable
Public health education shapes our ability to respond to emerging and ongoing health challenges such as pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, chronic disease and an ageing population. Postgraduate programs in palliative care and related disciplines develop highly specialised skills for supporting people at end of life in hospitals, aged care settings and communities.
The financial pressures universities are facing are genuine. At the same time, the timing of these proposed cuts raises difficult questions. NSW Health Workforce Plan 2022–2032 and the Australian Universities Accord Report both highlight workforce shortages in public health, palliative care and related fields. When governments call for more health professionals with these skills, how do we reconcile that with decisions that dismantle the very programs that build this expertise.
When universities reduce or remove these programs, the ripple effects reach far beyond any single campus. Research pipelines slow. Clinical placements are harder to find. The nuanced understanding needed to support people and families through one of the most significant experiences in human life becomes less accessible.
More than a thousand people have already signed a petition calling on UTS to reconsider. No final decision has been made at the time of writing, and the Academic Change Proposal remains open for consultation. Even so, the proposed direction has already sent a strong and unsettling message through the sector.
The distinct and complementary role of community education
At Preparing the Way we have always believed that education about end of life cannot sit only in lecture theatres and clinical settings. It needs to live in communities. Families, carers, neighbours, towns and allied professionals all benefit when they have more knowledge, language and confidence to be present and helpful around dying, death and grief.
This belief is not new and it is not a response to university restructuring. We are also very clear that our 10966NAT Certificate IV in End of Life Doula Services (delivered in partnership with Essential Skills Training and Recruitment RTO ID: 19729) does not and should not replace postgraduate palliative care nursing or medical specialisation. The roles are fundamentally different.
Clinical palliative care offers specialised medical expertise such as symptom management, complex care planning and clinical leadership. End of life doulas provide holistic, practical, emotional and spiritual support for individuals and families, working in close connection and collaboration with medical and care teams.
Both streams are essential. Both are under strain.
Preparing the Way was founded on the principle that end of life knowledge belongs across the community. Community education is not a substitute for clinical expertise. It sits beside it. Our workshops and accredited courses offer practical, person-centred training for anyone who wants to support others more skilfully. That includes family members, community volunteers, care workers and clinicians who want to integrate the doula approach into their professional life.
As formal pathways to specialised palliative care education face uncertainty, the need for multiple, complementary approaches to end of life education becomes even more pressing. We see ourselves as one part of a wider movement that is working to keep essential knowledge within reach for families navigating their own losses, for care workers seeking to deepen their skills and for people who feel called to this work but are not clinicians.
Building resilience through many pathways
We often hear about health workforce shortages in terms of numbers. How many nurses? How many doctors? How many allied health professionals? How many clinical minutes? Numbers matter. Yet underneath the numbers we must hold true to the fact that it’s all about people and values: compassion, dignity, respect, and continuity of care. These qualities are strengthened when education is diverse, collaborative and inclusive.
Universities, vocational training providers and community educators each play distinct and important roles in shaping a society that can respond well to end of life. Clinical programs train specialists to provide complex medical care. Community programs such as ours focus on doulas and support workers who stay close to individuals at end of life and to those who care about and for them. Government funded initiatives help aged care and primary care workers integrate palliative approaches into their everyday practice.
No single pathway can replace all the others. When traditional clinical pathways face contraction, it becomes even more important to tend to and strengthen the other ways people can build knowledge, skills and confidence in this area.
The proposed closure of programs like those at UTS is a sharp reminder that knowledge about death and dying must not be held only in universities or hospitals. It needs to live in communities, in families and in the ordinary relationships that sustain us through illness, caregiving and grief.
Where to from here
If you are a health professional who is concerned about these proposed closures, your voice matters. Dr Philip Lee’s e-petition to the NSW Legislative Council is open until 20 November, and professional bodies including Parliamentary Friends of Palliative Care are calling for reconsideration. The current consultation period is a chance for people within the sector and community to be heard.
If you are someone who wants to deepen your understanding of end of life care whether for personal reasons, to support your community or as a pathway to becoming an accredited doula, we are here. Our training does not replace clinical education. It does offer a real and practical way forward for those who want to make a difference in home and community settings.
And if you are reading this because you care about how we approach end of life as a society, thank you. Your attention and concern are part of what will shape what happens next. The decisions being made now about education and workforce development will influence the care available to all of us in the years to come.
We remain committed to doing our part so that knowledge about dying, death and grief stays where it is needed most in the hands and hearts of communities.