Australia’s first National Dementia Education and Training Standards Framework was released recently by Dementia Training Australia, marking a major step in raising national standards of care for people living with dementia. Funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, the framework outlines the knowledge and skills required for health, disability and aged care professionals.
Welcoming the initiative, Dementia Australia CEO Professor Tanya Buchanan underscored its significance in ensuring quality support for the more than 433,300 Australians projected to be living with dementia in 2025.
“433,300 Australians are living with dementia in 2025, and it is increasingly being understood as the public health, disability and aged care challenge facing Australia,” Professor Buchanan said.
“People living with dementia have specific care and support requirements that cannot be delivered without an appropriately educated workforce. As a leading provider of dementia training, Dementia Australia welcomes the Framework. It is a testament to effective co-design with Dementia Australia Dementia Advocates and experts from across the sector, including Dementia Australia staff actively engaged in its development.”
The new standards identify the level of competency expected from different roles within the workforce, serving as a baseline for professional development programs. Professor Buchanan believes the framework must become part of mandatory training to reinforce high-quality services.
“We need to see the foundation established by these education standards built into mandatory training for the workforce. This is critical to ensuring high quality services for people living with dementia.”
“That is why Dementia Australia continues to call on the Australian Government to fund dementia education initiatives to build workforce capability.”
Dementia Australia Dementia Advocate Gwenda Darling, who lives with younger onset dementia, praised the inclusive nature of the framework’s development: “It was a true co-design with people living with and caring for those with different types of dementia,” Darling said.
With dementia viewed increasingly as a pressing public health challenge, advocates say this new framework provides a clear roadmap to ensure better outcomes for those requiring care—and that government support will be key to seeing it fully implemented.
Read also: Common health issues silently raising dementia risk for Australians
Ritchelle is a Content Producer for Healthcare Channel, Australia’s premier resource of information for healthcare.
