The Graduate Diploma in Palliative Care is a postgraduate qualification designed for registered health professionals who wish to deepen their expertise in end-of-life and palliative care practice. The course develops the knowledge, clinical skills, and ethical frameworks needed to support patients and families through life-limiting illness, with a focus on delivering compassionate, evidence-based care across diverse healthcare settings including hospitals, hospices, aged care facilities, and community-based services. Students are encouraged to draw on their professional experiences and engage with contemporary challenges in palliative care, preparing them to take on advanced roles in diverse healthcare environments.

The qualification is firmly interdisciplinary in design, covering topics such as pain and symptom management, complex communication, social justice, law and ethics, public health perspectives, and psychosocial care. Subjects encompass a wide range of clinical contexts — from emergency and critical care through to paediatric palliative care, mental health, chronic disease management, and aged care integration. Courses typically comprise a mix of theory, evidence-based research, and clinical application, and can often be completed via online or part-time delivery to suit working health professionals.

Graduates find employment across the public and private health systems, with major employers including public hospitals, residential aged care providers, community health services, hospices, cancer care centres, primary health networks, and government health agencies at both the state and federal level. Allied health organisations, not-for-profit palliative care services, and academic or research institutions also employ graduates in clinical, education, policy, and leadership roles.

Most Australian providers require applicants to hold a bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification from a recognised tertiary institution in a relevant health discipline — such as nursing, medicine, midwifery, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, pharmacy, social work, psychology, speech pathology, paramedic science, or dietetics. In addition to academic qualifications, applicants must typically demonstrate current registration with the relevant Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) board or equivalent registering authority. Some providers may also consider applicants who do not hold an undergraduate degree but can demonstrate substantial relevant work experience and capacity for graduate-level study through submission of a detailed CV and supporting documentation.

Professional experience is a central entry requirement for this qualification. Most providers require a minimum of one to two years of full-time equivalent post-registration professional experience in the health sector or a closely related field by the commencement date. Applicants must also typically demonstrate concurrent employment in a relevant clinical setting, or at minimum, access to a suitable clinical environment to undertake practice-based learning components during the course. Some institutions offer alternative entry pathways via completion of a Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care, which may provide direct credit into the Graduate Diploma program.

For applicants whose first language is not English, providers require demonstrated English language proficiency, typically evidenced by an IELTS Academic score of at least 6.5–7.0 overall (with no band below 6.0), or equivalent results in PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, or OET. Applicants who hold citizenship in an English-speaking country, or who have completed prior study entirely in English, may be exempt from this requirement. Credit transfer may be available for prior postgraduate study, accredited professional development activities, or relevant work experience, assessed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with each provider's recognition of prior learning policies.