Australia’s National Dementia Action Plan 2024-2034: What it is and why it matters?

Did you know that in December 2024 the Australian Government launched a 10-year National Dementia Action Plan? This isn’t just a policy document, it’s a roadmap for improving diagnosis, care, support, research, and community understanding for people living with dementia and their carers.

In this episode of Voices in DREAM, Yashi sits down with Distinguished Professor Emeritus James Vickers, Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, to unpack what’s new, why it’s so important, and how it could change the landscape of dementia care in Australia.

Tune in to learn about:

• The purpose and vision of the National Dementia Action Plan 2024-2034
• The 8 high-level actions in the Plan and what they mean in practice
• How the Plan addresses stigma, equity, and human rights
• The role of workforce development and building capability in care services
• How research and data will drive innovation and better policy
• What it means for people living with dementia, their families, and carers
• How progress will be measured over the next decade

If you work in aged care, health, research, or support someone with dementia, this episode matters.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Did you know that in December 2024, the Australian government launched a 20-year national dementia action plan to guide the next decade of dementia care, support, and community awareness? Yet many people don't know what's actually in it or why it matters. Hello and welcome to Voices in Dream. This podcast is by the Dream team, a collaboration between the Wiking Dementia Research and Education Center and the Dementia Support Australia. Whether you're a support worker, a nurse, a volunteer, or someone who cares, then you are in the right place. Voices in Dream connects you to a community of HK workers to support you to support people living with dementia. I'm your host Yashi, and in each episode, we share real stories, practical insights, and support for anyone involved in dementia care, especially those in respite settings. So let's learn together, one shift at a time. In today's episode, I'm joined by distinguished Professor James Vickers to unpack what the National Dementia Action Plan means for families, care workers, and the future of dementia support in Australia. Thank you for being here today and welcome to Voices in Dreams James.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Thank you. Yeshi, it's great to be part of it.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

To begin with, um can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Oh thank you. Yes, so um James Vickers. I've um worked at the University of Tasmania for over 30 years and in more recent times as director of the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre. But my um main background in research-wise initially was in neuroscience research and studying the brain and how it's organized and affected by dementia, and then much later on became interested in other areas um such as uh dementia risk reduction.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Um and I believe you're the right person to talk about dementia action plan. Um everyone talks about it, but we don't really know what it is. Can you tell us what exactly dementia action plan is?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Yes, certainly. Yes. So Australia has had action plans related to dementia previously, um, going back quite a few years, but they lapsed. So for many years we didn't really have a unified uh approach. Meanwhile, um organizations such as the World Health Organization and Alzheimer's Disease International um were really becoming uh very motivated to encourage different countries to to develop their own action plans. Yeah. And in many ways, the WHO had come up with a bit of a template for what they might look like. So the Australian government decided that they would have a plan. Now the interesting thing about it being a national plan, it had to be a plan that both the Commonwealth agrees to, so the Commonwealth government, as well as every state and territory government. So it really was quite a lot of work to to first of all develop that plan, but then also get agreement that everybody would be part of actioning that plan as well, too. And so that really um came to a conclusion uh in 2024, and so they came up with a 10-year uh action plan that involved eight action areas. Yeah. And they realize also they can't do all of them at once. So there's an idea that they might might break off a few of those and focus on those.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

It basically means these are the actions that we need to take to reduce the number of dementia cases, or what what is it in plain language?

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Broader than that. It really is for how does Australia meet the the ch all the challenges that are associated with with dementia. So some of those do involve, of course, it's uh we have an aging population generally, and age is the major risk factor for dementia, but there are other risk factors, you know, perhaps we can do something about those. But then through to really um the sort of clinical services that we might provide for people with dementia, how can we set up services so people can get a diagnosis as quickly as possible? Yeah. And then after a diagnosis, how they're supported. So it's really quite a broad plan that goes from you know clinical areas and support through to um gathering data, research, and also looking at uh ways we might re- reduce dementia risk in the population.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Yep, so it's inclusive and comprehensive of everything that's required.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

That's right. So a lot of work went into devising the plan. There was consultation with all sorts of organizations, people with dementia and and the broader community. And that's why it took a long time really to develop. But the I guess the the important ingredient in the plan is that not only has the Commonwealth Government agreed that it's important to address these areas of action, but now also state governments are going to be encouraged to be part of the solution. Because dementia and aged care more broadly has always sort of slipped between the cracks between Commonwealth responsibilities and state responsibilities.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

All right.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

And and broadly aged care or the provision of support for aged care has been a Commonwealth responsibility, whereas the states have tended to focus more on um their hospitals and public health.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Yeah. So I know that the action plan um includes several key priorities from improving diagnosis and reducing stigma, as we first discussed, to building a dementia capable workforce. What do you see as the most significant changes or focus areas?

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Well, because we all have our biases. Um but I think your opinion. Oh, my opinion. Well, clearly there is a need to support people with dementia out there in the community. Yeah. That that there really isn't enough um focused and direct support for people with dementia and also their their carers. Yeah. And anybody who's had to navigate the aged care system would know that's a difficult system to navigate, but it's made much more difficult in the context of somebody with dementia as well. Yeah. We don't have enough geriatricians, we don't have enough GPs who have a thorough knowledge of dementia, we don't have enough community-based nurses who who have a background in dementia. And we also have a very large um, you know, group of people who work in support roles across residential and community care who, you know, may or may not have had any education training in dementia as well, too. So we need a much better coordinated response to supporting people with dementia. I think that's that's number one.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Yeah. Um, so a dementia action plan, it's a it's a big thing if you read it. It's it's quite hard to understand. I read it once. Um how will this plan impact everyday Australians, particularly people living with dementia, their families and carers, for instance? What practical differences might they notice over time if we put this action plan into effect?

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Well, I think that's that's a really important point because you can have a plan, but then if you don't actually do anything related to the plan, and I think that's that's the the um there's a lot of discussion about that currently. So particularly around funding. So we've all decided that there are these eight important areas to address dementia um uh right throughout our community. What really are state governments going to do? What really is the Commonwealth government going to do to actually address any of these areas? Now, one one thing to keep them honest though, one of the commitments in the plan is to monitor outcomes.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

Um, and so I guess there's this idea we'll we'll gather data and we'll see if anything actually changes over time. So the Commonwealth might come up with a program, um, for example, to support, say, post-diagnostic care. Yeah. But how do we know it if that actually makes any difference? Yeah. So there's this idea that we'll we'll gather the data and we'll be able to evaluate it. But while while it took a lot of work to get the plan developed and and now available, we've really yet to see substantial funding coming behind really any of those action areas of the plan. That just very recently, just this year, um, 2026, the the Commonwealth has identified three of those areas which which they say they're going to focus on for the next few years.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

And this um relates to people getting a diagnosis and then getting access to post-diagnostic care. Also, um, you know, what can we do with dementia risk reduction at a community level? Yeah. I guess a b a big issue there is that um we know dementia risk reduction is possible, but people in the community don't know that. So we need a some kind of public health campaign set of programs to to um address that. And then the third area really was to what can we do to boost research and support innovation. Yeah. And then this other part which I mentioned before, which is how can how can we best manage um the the the outcomes, identifying the outcomes and um describing what they are? So those are those sort of three areas. So we're all hoping that that in fact these are the things that will get get funded.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Finally, looking ahead, what is that one key message that you want our listeners who are aged care workforce to take away about the future of dementia care and the importance of this action plan?

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Yeah, th I've always thought that the issue with dementia is it falls between the cracks. Is that like who's really responsible for holistically supporting the best dementia care out there in the in the community?

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

And what can we do in the context of an aging population and a big increase in in the prevalence of dementia? How can we sort of mitigate the the impacts of that as well, too? So we're hoping that the the dementia action plan will will lead to tangible outcomes that will help to support those those kinds of areas. Now, but again, I think it you know does largely depend on whether um the governments will will support them, that they say they will, whether they actually will, and then related to that, whether the funding will flow to to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Yeah, thank you so much for being here today and for sharing your insights with us. Thank you. And before we go, here's something for you to think about. The dementia action plan emphasizes dignity, inclusion, and quality of life. What is that one small change you could make in your work to better support these principles for people living with dementia? Do let us know. Thanks for listening to Voices in Dream today, connecting you to the community of age care workers to support you to support people living with dementia. If you found this episode helpful, share it with a co-worker or even mention during your handover. Let's keep building a strong connected care team. Follow the Weeking Center on Facebook and LinkedIn for more episodes and free resources. And also to keep learning and growing, check out our free courses like Dream Program, Equip Learning and Understanding and Preventing Dementia. Take care of yourself and those you support. And see you next week on Voices in Dream. Bye.