Dementia Australia

Dementia Australia National Dementia Helpline - 1800 100 500 We advocate for positive change and support vital research.

Dementia Australia is the source of trusted information, education and services for the estimated more than 446,500 Australians living with dementia and the more than 1.7 million people involved in their care. Dementia Australia is the source of trusted information, education and services for the estimated more than 400,000 Australians living with dementia and the more than 1.5 million people invo

lved in their care. We are here to support people impacted by dementia, and to enable them to live as well as possible. No matter how you are impacted by dementia or who you are, we are here for you. Founded by carers more than 40 years ago, today we are the national peak body for people living with dementia, their families and carers. We involve people impacted by dementia and their experiences in our activities and decision-making, to make sure we are representative of the diverse range of dementia experiences. We amplify the voices of people impacted by dementia through advocating and sharing stories to help inform and inspire others. Welcome to the official page of Dementia Australia. This site is designed to provide news, information and facilitate discussion. This page is generally monitored from Monday-Friday between 9am and 5pm, excluding public holidays. Dementia Australia reserves the right to amend or delete derogatory, offensive or defamatory material posted on this page. Dementia Australia also reserves the right to delete advertising material. Fans of this site are reminded that offensive language will be deleted. We want to provide a safe and open space for people with dementia and their carers to reach out for support and access advice. For that reason, we will also remove any unhelpful or misleading comments and posts. Content posted by individuals on this page does not represent the official views of Dementia Australia. Facebook has Community Standards for people and communities using Facebook. If you do want to report something inappropriate or abusive that you experience on Facebook, please use the report link near the post, photo or comment to report it to Facebook. For more information on how to report inappropriate activity please visit:
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Thank you to all our supporters over the last year! Your support has helped make a difference to the lives of people aff...
02/09/2026

Thank you to all our supporters over the last year! Your support has helped make a difference to the lives of people affected by dementia.

We hope you feel proud of what you helped us achieve. Thank you for continuing to stand with people living with dementia, their families and carers. 💙

29/08/2026

What does it take to actually keep your brain healthy?

In the latest episode of Hold the Moment, Dr Suraj Samtani explains ‘reminiscence therapy’ and why something as simple as old photos or familiar music can help strengthen memory.

Dr Suraj is a clinical psychologist and researcher at UNSW and Dementia Australia Research Foundation fellow.

🎧 Listen on your favourite podcast app, watch on YouTube, or follow the link in our bio for the full episode and resources.

🎤 Hold the Moment is produced in proud partnership with Deadset Studios.

26/08/2026

“I need to get these stories out.”

When Janet was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she figured she’d just carry on as before. Now, she says, it’s the opposite: the diagnosis has made her more determined than ever to write. Janet always wanted to be a writer.

After a career as a teacher and years in women’s education, she went back to university in her late 50s to complete a PhD in creative writing. And since her diagnosis, she’s been running creative writing workshops for other people living with dementia.

In this episode of Hold the Moment, Janet talks about the stories she still wants to tell, including one for her granddaughter that she hopes will become a kind of legacy.

🎧 Listen on your favourite podcast app, watch on YouTube, or follow the link in our bio for the full episode and resources.

🎤 Hold the Moment is produced in proud partnership with Deadset Studios.

23/08/2026

“Can you be really specific and say at the end, here’s the music I want, here’s the people I want around, the colour lipstick I want to wear, I want some balloons in the room?”

It’s a question Hamish Macdonald puts to Jayne, who manages the palliative care Nightingale Program at Dementia Australia, and it gets right to the heart of just how far advance care planning can go.

A dementia diagnosis often brings decisions families haven’t had to think about before: where someone wants to live, what kind of care they’d choose, what matters most to them as things change.

Jayne says there’s no such thing as too specific, “It’s very empowering for their families to know what they might like, even post death, as well.”

This week, Hold the Moment explores why planning ahead for the big decisions and the small, personal ones, can make all the difference.

🎧 Listen on your favourite podcast app, watch on YouTube, or follow the link in our bio for the full episode and resources.

🎤 Hold the Moment is produced in proud partnership with Deadset Studios.

When you or someone you love receives a dementia diagnosis, one of the first questions you’ll ask is: what happens at th...
23/08/2026

When you or someone you love receives a dementia diagnosis, one of the first questions you’ll ask is: what happens at the end?

You might consider palliative care, but isn’t that just morphine and the final days? Far from it.

Palliative care can start early, and it can ultimately be whatever you want it to be.

“Palliative care goes from the point of diagnosis,” says Jayne from Dementia Australia’s Nightingale Program. “It’s about living well, having good quality of life, having choice.”

Betsy learned what palliative care can really offer when caring for her husband Peter, who lived with young onset Alzheimer’s disease. “The noise went away,” she says. “The fear went away. There was grief, but lots of love. There was room to breathe.”

To learn how palliative care can create a dignified, peaceful end of life, listen to Hold the Moment episode 9 on your favourite podcast app, watch on YouTube, or visit dementia.org.au/podcast for the full episode and resources.

🎤 Hold the Moment is produced in proud partnership with Deadset Studios

19/08/2026

Betsy’s husband Peter lived with young onset Alzheimer’s disease for three and a half years. In hospital, everything was chaotic: different people asking the same questions, no certainty about what came next. But in moving to palliative care changed everything.

“There was grief, but there was also lots of love. There was room to breathe.”

This week on Hold the Moment, Betsy shares what palliative care actually looked like for her family and how it gave them something unexpected: peace.

🎧 Listen on your favourite podcast app, watch on YouTube, or follow the link in our bio for the full episode and resources.

🎤 Hold the Moment is produced in proud partnership with Deadset Studios.

The route to a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia is never straightforward. It might take time, it can feel isolating, info...
19/08/2026

The route to a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia is never straightforward. It might take time, it can feel isolating, information could be confusing and people involved might feel misunderstood. Dealing with these feelings can present a challenge for people living with the condition and those supporting them.

If you’re nodding along, you might like our August library pick of the month, ‘Lewy Body Dementia, a Practical Guide’.

Written by Dr Allison Killen, her book explores why Lewy body dementia can be difficult to diagnose, how the condition typically progresses and explains common treatments. More importantly it sets out practical guidance for people with Lewy Body Dementia, their families and carers. It’s packed full of honest, personal accounts and provides valuable information for finding acceptance and support.

‘Lewy Body Dementia, A Practical Guide’ allows readers to address concerns when they arise, and shares points to ponder at the end of each chapter to encourage conversation and reflection.

Whether you are someone living with Lewy body dementia looking for effective strategies to try, or a carer wanting to build a deeper understanding and gain insight into the caregiving experience, this guide is the companion you need.

Find this book in the Dementia Australia Library at https://dementia-e-library.overdrive.com/media/12158831?cid=1553303

Not yet a library member? Sign up for free at www.dementia.org.au/library

We are excited to share that the Tasmanian Government will be rolling out Dementia Australia education and training to s...
18/08/2026

We are excited to share that the Tasmanian Government will be rolling out Dementia Australia education and training to staff across the state’s four major hospitals and for community nurses.

The staff will participate in D-Esc, our workshop which provides virtual reality (VR) emergency situation training for workers caring for people living with dementia.

The training commitment coincided with the welcoming of Tasmania’s Parliamentary Friends of Dementia Dementia-Friendly Communities Plan for Tasmania 2026-28, detailing how Members of Parliament can lead in making their electorates more dementia-friendly.

Our dementia care workforce technology was also on display today at Parliament House in Tasmania. Parliamentarians had the opportunity to drop by our showcase to learn about our workforce training and education options including D-Esc, Talk with Ted and Ask Annie.

Thank you to everyone involved including Tasmanian Parliamentary Friends of Dementia Co-Convenors the Hon. Bridget Archer MP Minister for Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, the Hon. Cecily Rosol MP Greens Spokesperson for Health and Mental Health, and Ageing and Professor George Razay MP, Member for Bass. A special thanks to Dementia Advocates Lil and Sue who joined us for the day.

To find out more please visit https://www.dementia.org.au/media-centre/media-releases/dementia-australia-welcomes-commitment-dementia-education-and-inclusive

15/08/2026

People living with dementia can make decisions. That’s not an aspiration, it’s a fact. The suggestion that they can’t is one of the most common misconceptions researchers like Dr Craig Sinclair are working to change.

In the latest episode of Hold the Moment, Dr Sinclair explains what supported decision- making looks like beyond the legal framework and how the right support, at the right time, makes all the difference.

🎧 Listen on your favourite podcast app, watch on YouTube, or follow the link in our bio for the full episode and resources.

🎙️ Hold the Moment is produced in proud partnership with Deadset Studios.

Pop the kettle on, Australia: it’s Cuppa Time for Dementia. 🍵 Each year, across the country, people get together over a ...
11/08/2026

Pop the kettle on, Australia: it’s Cuppa Time for Dementia. 🍵

Each year, across the country, people get together over a cuppa and raise funds to help Dementia Australia support Aussies living with dementia, their families and carers.

And now dementia is Australia’s leading cause of death, those families have never needed you more. 💙

By bringing people together over a cuppa once again, you’ll help raise more vital funds for Dementia Australia’s services, and support Australians living with dementia, their families and carers. ☕

Registrations are now open. If you sign up by 31 August, you’ll go into the draw to win a Smeg Black Pump Espresso Coffee Machine! 🤩

Sign up today: https://tr.ee/nzat3p

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