Clare Holland House provides Specialist Palliative Care Services throughout the ACT including Home-based, Inpatient, Outpatient services along with outreach to Residential Aged Care Facilities and North Canberra Hospital. The Inpatient Hospice, situated on the shores of Lake Burly Griffin in Barton, provides admission for End-of-life care, symptom management and optimisation along with carer respite for patients experiencing a range of life-limiting illness.

Palliative Care Nurse Practitioners within the PEACE team provide a consultative service to people who have a life-limiting illness with specialist palliative care needs who are living in residential aged care facilities in the ACT.

1. An experienced palliative care clinician with demonstrated proficiency in managing complex symptoms, supporting residents with life‑limiting illness, and guiding multidisciplinary teams in palliative approaches to care.
2. Working at an advanced level of palliative care nursing practice underpinned by a sound knowledge of aged care that includes comprehensive holistic assessment, diagnosis, therapeutic management, quality use of medicines, monitoring and evaluation of care tailored to the older person’s needs.
3. Collaborating with multidisciplinary and other health care professional/service providers to ensure the residents and their family/carer remain the focus of care, and
4. discussing goals of care and end of life wishes with the older person and their families, completing required documentation to reflect these wishes.
5. Complex symptoms management of the older person at end of life.
6. Working together with GP’s and RACF staff ensuring resident’s goals of care/advance care plan are agreed upon and upheld.

The Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner will continue to develop/evolve to meet the changing clinical requirements of both CHH and the Residential Aged Care Facilities.

The Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner will be based within the Clare Holland House, within the palliative aged care (PEACE) team and will, in collaboration with palliative care consultants, general practitioners and other health professionals, clinically manage palliative care patients within aged care facilities across the territory who have specialist palliative care needs.

Duties

• Practice in accordance with approved clinical practice guidelines, scope of practice and Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia professional standards of practice, Code of Professional Conduct, and Code of Ethics for Nurses to deliver professional competent care in line with public expectation.
• Provides expert knowledge to the palliative care multidisciplinary team, provide direct clinical care, guidance, support, education and advice on the clinical case management of residents.
• Undertakes a comprehensive assessment, synthesizes and interprets assessment information including resident history, physical findings and diagnostic data to identify the resident’s phase of health and to make differential diagnoses.
• Practice within a model enhanced by autonomy, accountability and diagnostic reasoning to inform clinical decision making, conduct comprehensive and holistic health assessments and undertake relevant interventions, in collaboration with individual/s and multidisciplinary team to support the provision of person focused quality care.
• Identify potential adverse outcomes and implement proactive strategies to achieve risk minimisation.
• Liaise with the palliative care consultants to discuss resident referrals and outcomes.
• Collect and report individual's clinical information in a timely manner, maintain confidentiality and accurate health care documentation to ensure necessary information is available to meet legal and ongoing care requirements.
• Participate in research, maintain relevant memberships with relevant professional bodies, foster collaborative relationships with service providers and key stake holders.

• Individual initiative with strong problem solving and consultation skills.
• High Level communication and interpersonal skills.
• A commitment to practicing holistic health care that considers, and is sensitive to, a resident’s unique psychological, spiritual, and socioeconomic background.
• Ability to liaise effectively with staff at all levels and across disciplines.
• Organisational ability and time management skills.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following.

Essential

• Registered Nurse with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) who is endorsed to practice as a Nurse Practitioner by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.
• Must hold a current drivers’ licence.
• Clinically relevant experience in specialist palliative care, including management of people with life limiting illness, symptom assessment, and palliative care planning.
• CHS is leading the drive to digitally transform health service delivery in Australia through the implementation of a territory wide Digital Health Record. Computer literacy skills are required which are relevant to this role as you will be responsible for completing required documentation and becoming a proficient user of the Digital Health Record and/or other Information Technology systems; once proficient, you will need to remain current with changes, updates and contingencies.
• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS)  indicators align with this role.
• Have an understanding of the Aged Care Act 2025, The Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, the Charter of Aged Care Rights, Palliative Aged Care Outcomes Program (PACOP), the Aged Care Diversity Framework https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/older-australians/your-rights/aged-care-quality-standards, https://www.uow.edu.au/ahsri/pacop/
• Fulfil the responsibilities of this role in alignment to the CHS Exceptional Care Framework, Clinical Governance Framework, Partnering With Consumers Framework and all other related frameworks.

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualifications in palliative care or equivalent advanced training.
• Have experience working within the aged care sector, with an understanding of the dynamics of aging, polypharmacy, Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias, and the like.

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to the following.

• Pre-employment National Police Check.
• Prior to commencing this role, a current registration issued under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 is required.
• Comply with Canberra Health Services Occupational Assessment, Screening and Vaccination policy.

All employees are required to:

• Adhere to the Canberra Health Services Values and the ACT Public Service Code of Conduct.
• Act in accordance and comply with all relevant Safety and Quality policies and procedures.
• Comply with all relevant clinical and/or competency standards.

CHS is leading the drive to digitally transform health service delivery in Australia through the implementation of a territory wide Digital Health Record. Computer literacy skills are required which are relevant to this role as you will be responsible for completing required documentation and becoming a proficient user of the Digital Health Record and/or other Information Technology systems; once proficient, you will need to remain current with changes, updates, and contingencies.

1. Demonstrated comprehensive knowledge in the application of evidence-based practice in implementing individualised person-centred care, diagnostic and treatment interventions at an advanced level within the aged care sector, with a commitment to quality improvement and research.
2. Demonstrated advanced clinical expertise in (specialist?) palliative care, including comprehensive assessment, complex symptom management, prescribing within a palliative context, and leading goals of care/advance care planning discussions.
3. Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with palliative care clinicians, general practitioners, and RACF staff in managing residents with complex palliative needs.
4. Knowledge and understanding of current trends in palliative aged care practice and an ability to promote and influence work practice change based on evidence-based practice.
5. Demonstrated commitment to and understanding of the principles of quality management, clinical research, and policy development in the palliative aged-care health care setting. Evidence of participation in own professional development, a commitment to maintaining competence and enhancement of skills.
6. Demonstrates understanding of, and adherence to, safety and quality standards, work, health, and safety (WH&S) and the positive patient experience. Displays behaviour consistent with CHS’s values of reliable, progressive, respectful, and kind.

The following work environment description outlines the inherent requirements of the role and indicates how frequently each of these requirements would need to be performed. Please note that the ACT Public Service is committed to providing reasonable adjustments and ensuring all individuals have equal opportunities in the workplace.

Administrative	Frequency
Telephone use	Frequently
General computer use	Frequently
Extensive keying/data entry	Frequently
Graphical/analytical based	Frequently
Sitting at a desk	Frequently
Standing for long periods	Occasionally

Psychosocial demands	Frequency
Distressed People e.g. Emergency or grief situations	Frequently
Aggressive & Uncooperative People e.g. drug / alcohol, dementia, mental illness	Occasionally
Unpredictable People e.g. Dementia, mental illness, head injuries	Occasionally
Restraining e.g. involvement in physical containment of clients/consumers	Occasionally
Exposure to Distressing Situations e.g. Child abuse, viewing dead / mutilated bodies; verbal abuse; domestic violence; suicide	Occasionally

Physical demands	Frequency
Distance walking (large buildings or inter-building transit)	Occasionally
Working outdoors	Never

Manual handling	Frequency
Lifting 0 - 9kg	Occasionally
Lifting 10 - 15kg	Occasionally
Lifting 16kg+	Never
Climbing	Never
Running	Never
Reaching	Occasionally
Kneeling	Occasionally
Foot and leg movement	Occasionally
Hand, arm and grasping movements	Occasionally
Bending/squatting	Occasionally
Bend/Lean Forward from Waist/Trunk twisting	Occasionally
Push/pull	Occasionally
Sequential repetitive movements in a short amount of time	Occasionally

Travel	Frequency
Frequent travel – multiple work sites	Frequently
Frequent travel – driving	Frequently

Specific hazards	Frequency
Working at heights	Never
Exposure to extreme temperatures	Never
Operation of heavy machinery e.g. forklift	Never
Confined spaces	Never
Excessive noise	Never
Low lighting	Never
Handling of dangerous goods/equipment e.g. gases; liquids; biological.	Never
Slippery or uneven surfaces	Never