Dementia Australia welcomes Australia's first National Dementia Education and Training Standards Framework, released this week by Dementia Training Australia, funded by The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
Dementia Australia CEO Professor Tanya Buchanan said the standards are essential for building the dementia capability of the health, disability and aged care workforce.
"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 Framework clearly outlines the level of competency required of different roles within the workforce in order to deliver quality dementia care. It also provides a foundation on which providers can base their ongoing professional development programs.
"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 said she felt honoured to be included in the consultation of this Framework.
"It was a true co-design with people living with and caring for those with different types of dementia." Ms Darling said.
