$200m dementia boost in budget not enough, warns top expert

Senior Australian of the Year and passionate dementia advocate Henry Brodaty has welcomed the federal government’s investment in dementia care but said it is crucial it is “matched by a sustained and strengthened commitment to research”.

An additional 20 specialist dementia care programs will be rolled out across the country, while hospital programs that help older people succefully go from hospitals into residential aged care will be expanded from 11 locations to 20 thanks to a $224.3m funding boost.

“Today’s budget sends a strong and welcome step forward in recognising the scale and urgency of dementia in Australia,” Scientia Professor Brodaty and his Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) co-director Scientia Professor Perminder Sachdev told news.com.

“The $3bn investment in aged care – with a clear emphasis on dementia – is both timely and necessary as we face a rapidly growing number of Australians living with this condition. “Dementia is one of the greatest health, social and economic challenges of our time.

“And while this investment lays important groundwork, it must be matched by a sustained and strengthened commitment to research.

“Research is not an optional extra – it is the foundation of better care,” the professors said.

“It is how we improve diagnosis, develop new and more effective interventions, and build care systems that are both high-quality and sustainable.

“Without ongoing investment in research and evidence, we simply cannot deliver the outcomes Australians deserve.

“We already know that even relatively small advances can make a major difference.”

NED-14113-Think again fact box

Prof Brodaty is a leading voice in news.com.au and The Australian’s Think Again campaign which was launched in September 2025 aimed at changing the narrative that dementia only impacts the elderly and is an inevitable part of ageing.

The campaign also called for more government funding and a more co-cordinated care approach when a person is given a dementia diagnosis.

Figures compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and released by Dementia Australia show 446,500 Aussies are impacted by the brain health condition – up 13,500 cases on the previous year.

That number is expected to more than double to one million people by 2065.

Almost 30,000 Australians aged under 65 are living with young onset dementia, while about 1500 children live with childhood dementia.

Aussies living with dementia 2025 - 2065

Professors Brodaty and Sachdev said “delaying the onset of dementia by just one year could reduce prevalence by around 10 per cent, with significant benefits for individuals, families, carers and the broader health system”.

“That kind of impact is only possible through rigorous, well-supported research translated into practice,” the professors said.

“If Australia is serious about addressing dementia, then research must remain central to our national response – embedded across prevention, diagnosis and care.

“With the right investment, we have the opportunity not only to improve how we care for people living with dementia, but to lead the world in reducing its impact across the entire care pathway.”