Background: There are currently no established national standards for specialist bereavement services or counselling in Australia to inform consistent expectations of high-quality bereavement services. Efforts to date have concentrated on bereavement practice in the context of palliative care provision, without consideration of the needs of populations beyond those known to palliative care services. 

Aim: To articulate practitioner-defined consensus regarding standards for Specialist Bereavement Services in New South Wales, both within and beyond palliative care, and underpinned by current evidence and practice. 

Methods: The NSW Bereavement Coordinators’ Network (NSW BCN) comprises counsellors from disciplines of counselling, psychology, psychotherapy and social work in both paediatric and adult settings in metropolitan, regional and rural areas; with a combined total of over 150 years of practice experience. Members of the NSW BCN reviewed the existing 2012 Victorian Bereavement Support Standards for Specialist Palliative Care Services as a preliminary framework, then held a series of discussion meetings to explore commentary and discuss consensus. Guided by these discussions, a sub-committee of the NSW BCN then drafted a consensus statement. This draft statement was circulated within the wider NSW BCN and refined through iterative cycles. Consultation was sought through Agency for Clinical Innovation with their Clinical Networks, Senior Aboriginal Palliative Care Workers, and consumers, with further revision.

Findings: Eleven standards were outlined that provide guidance regarding a recommended minimum level of bereavement support provided by specialist bereavement services (whether based in Supportive and Palliative Care, or whether providing bereavement services regardless of cause of death). Standards and relevant criteria were described and mapped to relevant national frameworks.

Conclusions: Informed by significant clinical experience and immersion in the coordination and provision of specialist bereavement counselling, this practitioner-led consensus statement constitutes a framework to underpin consistent, evidence-based practice, and signals a call for progress toward national standards.