About Cleansing the Way
The National Initiative Advancing Culturally Safe End-of-Life Care
Honouring Spirit. Upholding Ceremony. Strengthening Cultural Safety Across Australia.
Cleansing the Way is a national campaign committed to strengthening culturally respectful, spiritually safe end-of-life and after-death care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
We work alongside health, aged care and after-death services to support practical, policy-aligned pathways that recognise and facilitate Smoking and Cleansing Ceremonies when requested by families — ensuring care environments honour Spirit, Country and community.
Why This Campaign Exists
Across Australia, many First Nations families encounter barriers when requesting culturally appropriate Ceremony within health, aged care and after-death care systems.
- Limited understanding of cultural protocols
- Lack of policy pathways supporting Ceremony
- Insufficient engagement with local Elders
- Risk-averse systems unfamiliar with cultural practices
Our Objectives
- Promote national recognition of Smoking and Cleansing Ceremonies as legitimate cultural practices
- Embed practical pathways enabling respectful facilitation of Ceremony
- Strengthen partnerships between services and local First Nations communities
- Support families during Sorry Business and grief
- Increase First Nations death literacy across relevant sectors
Delivered In Partnership
This initiative is delivered by Ngiyani Wandabaa and funded by the Good Death Impact Network (GDIN) through The Wicking Trust Grants.
Ngiyani Wandabaa is an Indigenous-led organisation committed to supporting First Nations death literacy and strengthening culturally safe and spiritually grounded palliative and end-of-life care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Good Death Impact Network (GDIN) is a growing community of people and organisations across Australia working to improve experiences around death, dying and grief. With support from The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) and funding from The Wicking Trust, GDIN works to drive meaningful system change in end-of-life care across Australia.
A Spirit-Led Commitment
Cleansing the Way calls upon organisations to move beyond awareness and into meaningful action — honouring Spirit, respecting cultural protocols and embedding culturally grounded service environments.