Dying in Residential Aged Care


Many residential aged care facilities have structured approaches to support care of residents dying in the facilities. Nurses should check what policies and procedures are available in their facility.

Residential Aged Care End-of-Life Care Pathway (RAC EoLCP)

A terminal care management document is designed to help make consensus-based best practice palliative care possible for older people in the terminal phase of life (i.e. they are actively dying). It is intended to support residential aged care facility staff in their efforts to ensure that the older person who is dying will do so with the best available care in place.

Many facilities have adopted at the Residential Aged Care End-of-Life Care Plan Pathway (RACEoLCP) as the terminal care document. The RAC EoLCP is a clinical tool that:
  • Provides a guide for delivery of evidence-based, best practice palliative care.
  • Provides a template to record evidence of care as it is delivered.
  • Ensures good quality, standardised care for all older persons.
  • Supports quality assurance and audit processes.

The RAC EoLCP

Transferring to Hospital

After Death Care

Bereavement support

Death Audits

Helpful Resources



Page updated 04 December 2023


palliAGED is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.