The Dementia in Australia 2021 report provides a comprehensive picture of dementia and its impacts on Australia’s health and aged care systems.
Dementia is now the third-leading cause of disease burden in Australia. Up to 472,000 Australians are living with dementia, and more than half of people in residential aged care have dementia. Between 134,900 and 337,200 Australians are providing consistent unpaid care for a person with dementia.
The Australian Government is investing $229.4 million to improve care and services for people living with dementia.
Key measures include:
- training for more than 3,000 personal care workers to become dementia leaders within their organisations and additional training places for 1,000 GPs and GP registrars each year
- an increase in early support services such as counselling and education to around 30,000 people living with dementia at home so they can remain independent
- increased availability of respite places.
The Dementia in Australia 2021 report is the first of its kind in almost 10 years and was prepared by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare through funding from the Department of Health.
For information about what you can do during Dementia Action Week, visit Dementia Australia’s website.