Compassionate Communities Australia (CCAus) was launched by Perron Institute Patron, His Excellency the Honourable Chris Dawson AC APM Governor of Western Australia, at a special event recently at Government House in Perth.

Many were in attendance, including the Hon Amber Jade-Sanderson on behalf of WA Premier Roger Cook, Dr Katrina Stratton MLA, and past Perron Institute Patrons the Hon Kerry Sanderson and Dr Ken Michael.

Many national and international colleagues were able to watch the event online.

Compassionate Communities Australia is part of a global movement of communities working to improve how we care for one another, especially during illness, death and challenging times.

The movement originated in Australia in the 1990s and was pioneered by Professor Allan Kellehear who remains an active ambassador for this work worldwide. During a video presentation at the event, he said: “CCAus is a significant international development. It is incredibly important in the history of public health, hospice and palliative care in Australia.

“CCAus will be the pioneering organisation for the development of Compassionate Communities across Australia. It will ensure that the light stays on and burns brightly in Australia and beyond,” Professor Kellehear said.

CCAus Directors, Professor Samar Aoun, Dr Stephen Ginsborg, Dr Joanne Doran, and Harpreet Kalsi-Smith have joined forces to create this much-needed national peak body bringing their unique perspectives on research, palliative care, primary care, community development and personal experience.

In her speech at the launch, Professor Aoun shared, “This national not-for-profit organisation aims to become a hub of knowledge, skills and resources for community-led solutions that lead to social and systems change.”

Dr Ginsborg highlighted, “There is an art to medicine, and warmth, empathy and compassion may surpass the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug. The most powerful therapeutic tool that the doctor possesses is herself or himself.”

Dr Doran spoke fondly about “a young patient with complex needs who is dying, but she was not complex to her community, who came together with compassion and connection to enable her to continue to experience the joy of living”.

Mrs Kalsi-Smith brought her personal experience as a consumer advocate and highlighted that “the heart of the work of compassionate communities primarily sits in community development”.

The speeches made by the CCAus Directors and Professor Kellehear can be viewed here.

The day prior to the launch, Compassionate Communities Australia held a national forum. Over 150 people from Australia and New Zealand joined in person and online.

The presentations by each of the Directors can be accessed here.

For more information and to join, visit: www.compassionatecommunities.au.

Compassionate Communities Australia Launch Govt House 2024
Photo from left: Steve Arnott (Perron Institute CEO), Harpreet Kalsi-Smith, Rob McKenzie (Perron Institute Board Chair), Prof Samar Aoun, His Excellency the Honourable Chris Dawson AC APM, Mrs Darrilyn Dawson, Dr Jo Doran and Dr Stephen Ginsborg.