Sidney: New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet has promised to improve access to palliative care, announcing a $743 million boost in the state budget.

Perrottet vowed to “fix” palliative care funding during the debate into voluntary assisted dying, which was legalized in NSW last month, 20 years after the parliament first debated euthanasia.

The money is on top of the $300m already spent in NSW each year on palliative care, with the first-year funding of the new package to be revealed in the budget on June 21.

The additional funding will increase significantly over time, growing to an additional $339 million in the fifth year.

During the euthanasia debate in November, Mr. Perrottet acknowledged he had “failed in my former capacity as treasurer to address this issue”.

The state’s regional health minister, Bronnie Taylor, who is a former palliative care nurse, said the funding package would strengthen the career pathways for people becoming palliative care workers.

The funding will provide another 600 health care workers, including nurses, doctors and support staff, as well as boost hospital capacity for palliative care, at a cost of $650m over five years. The remaining $93m in the package is for infrastructure.