Palliative Medicine Physician
Palliative medicine physicians look after people living with serious illness that cannot be cured, working on symptom control, comfort and quality of life.
- Median salary*
- $223,600
4.0%vs last year, before tax
- People employed*
- 1,200
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth*
- +20%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours*
- 44/wk
+4h vs all jobs
- Shortage status*
- In shortage
national
They work in hospitals, hospices, residential aged care and community services, usually as part of a multidisciplinary team that includes nurses, allied health, social work and pastoral care. The role differs from oncology in that it treats the symptoms and consequences of serious illness rather than the disease itself, and most patients arrive by referral. Many physicians also supervise advanced trainees, because specialist training in palliative medicine runs through their units.
How much do palliative medicine physicians earn?
The median full-time salary for a palliative medicine physician is $223,600 per annum, before tax, up $46,700 since 2018.
What you earn depends heavily on the sector and the arrangement. Specialists in public hospitals are paid under state and territory medical officer awards or enterprise agreements, while those in private practice, hospices or aged care negotiate salaries or bill through Medicare. On-call and after-hours work attracts loadings in most public roles, and fractional appointments are common because the specialty is small.
What does a palliative medicine physician do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Assessing and managing complex pain, breathlessness, delirium and nausea in patients with advanced illness
- Running goals-of-care and family meetings where prognosis, treatment limits and future planning are discussed
- Prescribing and reviewing opioids, adjuvant analgesics and continuous subcutaneous infusions, including syringe drivers used at home
- Coordinating care with nursing, allied health, social work and spiritual care colleagues across hospital, hospice and home
- Supervising registrars and junior doctors, and teaching palliative care to students and other specialties
What skills do palliative medicine physicians need?
Employers look for patient care and support, clinical assessment and treatment, care planning and coordination, backed by Electronic medical records such as PowerChart or eMR fluency and strong empathy and interpersonal care.
Specialist skills
- Patient care and support
- Clinical assessment and treatment
- Care planning and coordination
- Medication management
- Health education and advice
Software and tools
- Electronic medical records such as PowerChart or eMR
- eMIMS and palliative care prescribing guidelines
- Subcutaneous syringe drivers and infusion pumps
- Telehealth consultation platforms
- Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) assessment tools
General skills
- Empathy and interpersonal care
- Written communication
- People leadership
Is the job growing?
About 1,200 people work as palliative medicine physicians in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 20% over the decade to 2035. That's very strong growth. Few roles in Australia are expanding this fast, and it points to solid demand for years to come.
How do you become a palliative medicine physician?
Here's the path most palliative medicine physicians take, step by step.
- 1Complete a medical degree
An accredited medical program, usually graduate entry, takes four to six years and includes hospital placements where you first meet patients with advanced illness.
- 2Finish internship and prevocational hospital years
You need general registration through the Medical Board of Australia via AHPRA, which comes after an intern year, then a few more years of rotations to build broad clinical experience.
- 3Complete basic physician training
This is three years with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, including written and clinical examinations, and it is the gate to any physician specialty.
- 4Do advanced training in palliative medicine
Around three years of RACP advanced training, with rotations through hospital consult services, hospices, residential aged care and community palliative care.
- 5Attain fellowship and specialist registration
Fellowship of the RACP allows vocational registration as a specialist. Some physicians add a postgraduate qualification in palliative care, education or research later for leadership and academic roles.
Ready to apply as a palliative medicine physician?
Whether you're working toward becoming a palliative medicine physician or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a palliative medicine physician move to?
We don't list lateral moves for palliative medicine physicians: leaving means a full new qualification rather than a career move, and the realistic routes in are covered under how to become one.
Who works as a palliative medicine physician?
The typical palliative medicine physician is 48 years old; 56% are women, 72% work full-time, and full-timers average 44 hours a week.
- 48
- Median age
- 56%
- Female share
- 72%
- Full-time
- +4h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a palliative medicine physician?
The week mixes ward rounds, outpatient clinics, family meetings and phone advice to GPs and community nurses, so the work runs on conversation as much as clinical skill. The pace can be slower than in acute specialties, but the emotional weight is constant and decisions are often made with incomplete information. It suits doctors who are comfortable with long discussions, working inside a team, and not having a cure to offer.
What people like
- Symptom control that changes a day. A patient who could not breathe or sleep comfortably often can within hours, and the improvement is visible to everyone in the room.
- Conversations families remember. Sitting with a family while prognosis, treatment limits and what matters most are discussed is central to the job, not an interruption to it.
- A team that shares the load. Nurses, allied health, social work and pastoral care carry the emotional weight together, which makes repeated deaths easier to hold than in specialties where you work alone.
- Range across settings. Hospital ward, hospice, aged care and home visits can all appear in the same week, and each asks something different of you.
What people find hard
- Referrals often arrive late. Many patients are referred in the final weeks or days, so there is little time to build a relationship before the decisions have to be made.
- Grief accumulates. Deaths come steadily rather than occasionally, and you are supporting families through their worst weeks while keeping your own reactions in check.
- Thin rosters and after-hours work. Pain crises and dying do not keep business hours, and because the specialty is small, the on-call rota is shared among few people.
- Advocating for stretched resources. Hospice beds, community nursing hours and equipment funding are limited, so part of the week goes on arguing for what patients need.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ palliative medicine physicians?
Hospitals (public and private) employs the largest share of palliative medicine physicians, followed by Specialist medical services.
Top employing industries
- 1Hospitals (public and private)
- 2Specialist medical services
- 3Residential aged care services
- 4Community health and home care services
- 5Hospice and palliative care services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 52% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 26% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 13% | |
| Other | 9% |
Will AI replace palliative medicine physicians?
Exposure here is low. The parts of the job that matter most, examining a patient whose breathlessness is getting worse and sitting with a family to explain what lies ahead, depend on physical assessment and human presence that software cannot supply, and opioid prescribing carries a legal and ethical weight that keeps a doctor at the centre. AI is already useful in the paperwork around the work, drafting correspondence, summarising an admission before a family meeting, or flagging a patient whose symptom scores are drifting upward.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Family meetings and goals-of-care discussionsReading a room and finding the words for a poor prognosis is a human task; a transcription tool can take minutes, but it cannot lead the conversation.25%low
- Symptom assessment and medication titrationWorking out whether breathlessness comes from fluid, infection or anxiety requires examining the patient, and while guidelines and dose calculators help, the clinical judgement stays with the physician.25%low
- Clinical documentation and correspondenceLetters to GPs, discharge summaries and advance care plan records are increasingly drafted or summarised by clinical software, with the physician reviewing and correcting the output.25%high
- Multidisciplinary care coordinationShared care plans, handover notes and scheduling run through hospital systems, and some now alert the team when a plan has not been reviewed, but the coordination itself remains a conversation between clinicians.25%moderate
Common questions about becoming a palliative medicine physician
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a palliative medicine physician earn?
$223,600 per year before tax, based on median full-time earnings for the role rather than a starting salary. Pay rises with seniority and on-call load, and the largest differences come from whether you are on a public hospital agreement, in private practice or in a hospice or aged care service.
How do you become a palliative medicine physician?
You complete a medical degree, an intern year and general registration through AHPRA, then basic physician training and advanced training in palliative medicine with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Fellowship of the RACP follows, usually around a decade after starting the medical degree.
Are palliative medicine physicians in demand?
Palliative medicine physicians are currently in shortage nationally, and employment in the specialty is projected to grow 20% over the decade to 2035. Most of the need comes from an ageing population and from more people living for years with multiple chronic conditions, so openings are spread across hospital consult services, hospices, aged care and community teams.
Will AI replace palliative medicine physicians?
No, this is one of the least exposed medical specialties. Software already drafts clinic letters, summarises long admission notes and helps with dose checking, but the assessment of a patient in front of you and the family meeting about what happens next stay with the physician, as does responsibility for prescribing opioids and sedatives.
What are the hours like?
Full-time palliative medicine physicians average 44 hours a week, and 72% of them work full time. On-call and after-hours cover is part of most hospital posts, though fractional and part-time appointments are common for specialists who combine clinical work with research, teaching or family commitments.
What can a palliative medicine physician move into later?
Most specialists build a portfolio rather than leave the field, adding service leadership, training supervision, research or teaching to their clinical work. Many come into the specialty from a few years as a resident medical officer, and doctors who arrive later from general practice or another specialty usually complete the same advanced training.
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