Summary
Dementia
is an Australia's health
topic
On this page:
Dementia is not a single specific disease, but rather there are many types of dementia with symptoms in common. These are caused by a range of conditions impacting brain function. It is commonly associated with memory loss but can affect speech, cognition, emotional control, behaviour and mobility (WHO 2023).
There are many forms of dementia, the most common being Alzheimer's disease – a degenerative brain disease caused by nerve cell death resulting in shrinkage of the brain. It is also common for an individual to have multiple types of dementia, known as 'mixed dementia'. While the likelihood of developing dementia increases with age, dementia is not an inevitable or normal part of the ageing process. Dementia can also develop in people under 65, referred to as younger onset dementia, and in children, which is known as childhood dementia.
Risk factors can increase a person’s likelihood of developing dementia. While some risk factors cannot be avoided, at least 45% of a person’s risk of developing dementia is potentially modifiable (Livingston et al. 2024). As there is currently no cure for dementia, minimising modifiable risks is currently the best way to prevent dementia.
Dementia is a significant and growing health and aged care issue in Australia that has a substantial impact on the health and quality of life of people living with dementia, as well as their family and friends. As the condition progresses, the functional ability of an individual living with dementia declines, leading to reliance on care providers for all aspects of daily living. While there is currently no cure for dementia, there are strategies that can assist in maintaining independence and quality of life for as long as possible.
The National Dementia Action Plan 2024–2034 was released in December 2024, as a joint initiative between the Australian Government and state and territory governments. It sets out 8 high-level actions aimed at improving the lives of people living with dementia and their families and carers, including improved health and wellbeing outcomes. It also focuses on improving dementia data and reporting nationally.
The AIHW track progress toward these 8 actions using specific metrics which are updated annually. Data on the state of play at the start of the action plan are available at National Dementia Action Plan indicators dashboard.
The Action Plan will be implemented through 3 Collective Priority Frameworks. Each will run for 3 to 4 years and set key focus areas for governments. The first Collective Priority is expected to be released by the end of 2025.
How many people have dementia?
The exact number of people with dementia in Australia (the ‘prevalence’) is currently not known. Estimates vary because there is no single authoritative data source for deriving dementia prevalence in Australia and different approaches are used to generate estimates. For more information, see What is being done to improve dementia prevalence estimates in Australia?
The AIHW estimates that there were 425,000 Australians living with dementia in 2024. This is equivalent to 16 people with dementia per 1,000 Australians. The rate of dementia rises quickly with age, from less than one person with dementia per 1,000 Australians aged 30–59, to 84 people with dementia per 1,000 Australians aged 65 and over, and 292 per 1,000 Australians aged 85 and over. Nearly two-thirds (63%, or nearly 266,000) of Australians with dementia are women, while 37% (or 159,000) of Australians are men.
With an ageing and growing population, it is predicted that the number of Australians living with dementia will increase 2.5-fold, to over 1.1 million by 2065 (662,000 women and 390,000 men) (Figure 1). A 40-year time frame is relevant to the early and mid-life prevention measures that can decrease the risk of developing dementia in later years (Livingston et al. 2024).
For data by age, sex, geographic and socioeconomic areas, see Prevalence of dementia.
Figure 1: Australians living with dementia by sex, 2025 to 2065
This figure shows the increasing estimated prevalence of dementia between 2025 and 2065.
| Year | Men | Women | Persons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 166,504 men living with dementia | 276,771 women living with dementia | 443,274 people living with dementia |
| 2026 | 172,849 men living with dementia | 286,199 women living with dementia | 459,048 people living with dementia |
| 2027 | 179,939 men living with dementia | 296,992 women living with dementia | 476,931 people living with dementia |
| 2028 | 186,750 men living with dementia | 307,731 women living with dementia | 494,481 people living with dementia |
| 2029 | 193,675 men living with dementia | 318,999 women living with dementia | 512,674 people living with dementia |
| 2030 | 193,675 men living with dementia | 330,505 women living with dementia | 531,203 people living with dementia |
| 2031 | 207,863 men living with dementia | 342,223 women living with dementia | 550,086 people living with dementia |
| 2032 | 215,631 men living with dementia | 355,222 women living with dementia | 570,854 people living with dementia |
| 2033 | 222,789 men living with dementia | 367,575 women living with dementia | 590,363 people living with dementia |
| 2034 | 229,857 men living with dementia | 380,128 women living with dementia | 609,985 people living with dementia |
| 2035 | 236,784 men living with dementia | 392,714 women living with dementia | 629,498 people living with dementia |
| 2036 | 243,745 men living with dementia | 405,211 women living with dementia | 648,956 people living with dementia |
| 2037 | 251,247 men living with dementia | 419,210 women living with dementia | 670,457 people living with dementia |
| 2038 | 258,043 men living with dementia | 432,073 women living with dementia | 690,116 people living with dementia |
| 2039 | 264,259 men living with dementia | 444,086 women living with dementia | 708,345 people living with dementia |
| 2040 | 270,211 men living with dementia | 455,662 women living with dementia | 725,873 people living with dementia |
| 2041 | 276,242 men living with dementia | 467,002 women living with dementia | 743,244 people living with dementia |
| 2042 | 281,954 men living with dementia | 477,712 women living with dementia | 759,666 people living with dementia |
| 2043 | 287,574 men living with dementia | 488,263 women living with dementia | 775,836 people living with dementia |
| 2044 | 292,966 men living with dementia | 498,364 women living with dementia | 791,330 people living with dementia |
| 2045 | 298,164 men living with dementia | 508,063 women living with dementia | 806,227 people living with dementia |
| 2046 | 303,679 men living with dementia | 517,932 women living with dementia | 821,610 people living with dementia |
| 2047 | 308,941 men living with dementia | 527,437 women living with dementia | 836,378 people living with dementia |
| 2048 | 314,055 men living with dementia | 536,792 women living with dementia | 850,847 people living with dementia |
| 2049 | 319,121 men living with dementia | 545,906 women living with dementia | 865,027 people living with dementia |
| 2050 | 323,895 men living with dementia | 554,453 women living with dementia | 878,349 people living with dementia |
| 2051 | 328,980 men living with dementia | 563,401 women living with dementia | 892,381 people living with dementia |
| 2052 | 333,749 men living with dementia | 571,708 women living with dementia | 905,457 people living with dementia |
| 2053 | 338,257 men living with dementia | 579,530 women living with dementia | 917,787 people living with dementia |
| 2054 | 342,581 men living with dementia | 586,886 women living with dementia | 929,467 people living with dementia |
| 2055 | 346,553 men living with dementia | 593,331 women living with dementia | 939,884 people living with dementia |
| 2056 | 350,733 men living with dementia | 599,994 women living with dementia | 950,727 people living with dementia |
| 2057 | 354,682 men living with dementia | 606,307 women living with dementia | 960,989 people living with dementia |
| 2058 | 358,549 men living with dementia | 612,476 women living with dementia | 971,024 people living with dementia |
| 2059 | 362,685 men living with dementia | 619,134 women living with dementia | 981,819 people living with dementia |
| 2060 | 366,999 men living with dementia | 625,877 women living with dementia | 992,876 people living with dementia |
| 2061 | 372,013 men living with dementia | 633,931 women living with dementia | 1,005,944 people living with dementia |
| 2062 | 376,710 men living with dementia | 641,524 women living with dementia | 1,018,234 people living with dementia |
| 2063 | 381,162 men living with dementia | 648,462 women living with dementia | 1,029,624 people living with dementia |
| 2064 | 385,634 men living with dementia | 655,171 women living with dementia | 1,040,805 people living with dementia |
| 2065 | 390,268 men living with dementia | 661,931 women living with dementia | 1,052,199 people living with dementia |
Source:
The AIHW estimates were derived using prevalence rates from the 2015 World Alzheimer report and Withall et al. 2014, and the ABS Medium Series population projections (ABS 2023).
Risk factors
A range of factors are known to contribute to the risk of developing dementia and may affect the progression of symptoms. Some risk factors can’t be changed, such as age, genetics and family history. However, there are health behaviours that can increase or decrease the risk of developing dementia (known as ‘modifiable risk factors’).
Protective factors that reduce the likelihood of developing dementia include high levels of education, physical activity, social engagement and cognitive activity (such as through education or cognitively stimulating work).
Risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing dementia include obesity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, air pollution, head injury, high blood pressure, untreated hearing loss, untreated vision loss, depression and diabetes (Livingston et al. 2024).
People who engage in protective factors and avoid risk factors are less likely to develop dementia or tend to develop dementia at older ages.
For more information, see What puts someone at risk of developing dementia?
Dementia awareness
The Dementia Awareness Survey is the largest nationally representative community survey of its kind in Australia. Around 5,400 people aged 18 and over were surveyed across Australia in mid-2023. The survey collected information on Australians’ knowledge of dementia and modifiable risk factors, and attitudes towards dementia and people living with dementia.
While the survey found that Australians generally know little about dementia, knowledge was higher among women; people with higher levels of education and income; and people who have worked with, or have a family or friend with, dementia. Almost all Australians (99.6%) do one or more actions to reduce their dementia risk, such as being physically (77%), cognitively (77%) or socially active (70%). For more information, see the Dementia Awareness Survey.
Deaths and disease burden
Dementia is the leading cause of death in Australia
In 2023, dementia was the leading cause of death in Australia, accounting for almost 17,400 deaths (or 9.5% of all deaths). Dementia was the leading cause of death for women and the second leading cause for men, after coronary heart disease.
The number of deaths due to dementia increased from 8,500 deaths in 2009 to 17,400 deaths in 2023. This could be due to a range of factors, including greater awareness of dementia and improvements in death certificate coding practices. The age-standardised rate, which accounts for differences in the age structure of a population, rose between 2009 and 2023, from 33 to 43 deaths per 100,000 Australians (Figure 2).
The AIHW uses an expanded list of ICD-10 codes to define dementia related deaths in the Dementia in Australia report. This expanded list was developed under the guidance of AIHW’s Dementia Expert Advisory Group. Therefore, the AIHW dementia death estimates reported here differ to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimates.
Both the AIHW and the ABS include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and unspecified dementia when reporting dementia related deaths; the AIHW list also includes other dementias (for example, Lewy body dementia). The AIHW and the ABS are aware of current differences in reporting and are working together to align reporting where practicable.
For more information, see Deaths due to dementia.
Figure 2: Deaths due to dementia in Australia: number, crude rate and age-standardised rate, by sex, 2009 to 2023
This line graph shows an increase in the number, crude rate, and age-standardised rate of deaths due to dementia between 2009–2023.
Notes
- This analysis is only based on the underlying cause of death and not on associated causes of death.
- Age-standardised rate of deaths due to dementia between 2009–2023 have been directly age-standardised to the 2001 Australian Standard Population by 5-year age groups up to age 95 and over, and are expressed per 100,000 population.
- Deaths are counted according to year of death registration. Deaths registered in 2020 and earlier are based on the final version of cause of death data; deaths registered in 2021 are based on the revised version; and deaths registered in 2022 and 2023 are based on the preliminary version. Revised and preliminary versions are subject to further revision by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Impact of COVID-19 on people with dementia
People with pre-existing chronic conditions, such as dementia, have a greater risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19. Fatal COVID-19 outbreaks have involved many people with dementia.
In 2023, around 32,400 people died due to or with dementia (where dementia was recorded either as an underlying cause or an associated cause of death). For more information, see Dying due to or with dementia.
- For those who died with dementia as an associated cause of death, COVID-19 was the third leading underlying cause of death (just over 1,200 deaths).
- For those who died with COVID-19 as an associated cause of death, dementia was the most common underlying cause of death (270 deaths, 16% of COVID-19 related deaths), followed by coronary heart disease (12%) and accidental falls (5.6%).
For more information on COVID-19 deaths, see the ABS report COVID-19 Mortality in Australia: Deaths registered until 31 January 2024.
Dementia is a leading cause of burden of disease
Burden of disease refers to the quantified impact of living with and dying prematurely from a disease or injury and is measured using disability-adjusted life years (DALY). One DALY is equivalent to one year of healthy life lost.
Figure 3 shows how the burden of disease for dementia has changed over time. Dementia was the second leading cause of burden of disease in Australia in 2024, behind coronary heart disease. In comparison, dementia was the third leading cause of burden of disease in 2018 and 2015, and the fifth leading cause of burden of disease in 2011. For women, and for Australians aged 80 and over, dementia was the leading cause of burden of disease. The total burden of dementia was just over 262,000 DALY, with 59% of burden attributable to dying prematurely and 41% from the impacts of living with dementia (Figure 3).
For more information, see Burden of disease due to dementia.
Figure 3: Leading 10 causes of disease burden (DALY) in Australia, by sex and age, 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2024
This figure shows that dementia was the second leading cause of burden of disease for people of all ages in 2024, the third leading cause of burden of disease in 2018 and 2015, and the fifth leading cause of burden of disease in 2011
Notes
- COPD refers to Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Conditions that were grouped into residual categories in the Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024 (such as 'Other musculoskeletal conditions') are not included in the rankings.
- Lower respiratory infections include influenza and pneumonia.
- Due to rounding, estimates for all persons for some diseases does not equal the sum of male and female estimates.
Carers of people with dementia
The level of care required for people living with dementia depends upon individual circumstances and often increases as dementia progresses. Carers are often family members or friends of people living with dementia who provide ongoing, informal assistance with daily activities.
The number of carers of people living with dementia in Australia is unknown. Based on the ABS 2022 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, the AIHW estimates that there were 96,800 informal carers of people with dementia in 2022, and at least 102,000 informal carers of people with dementia in 2024. Among primary carers of people with dementia, 3 in 4 (76%) were women and over half (57%) were caring for their partner with dementia.
Caring can be a rewarding role with 14% of primary carers of people with dementia reported feeling closer to the care recipient. Caring can also be physically, mentally, emotionally, and economically demanding. According to the ABS 2022 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, among carers of people with dementia, about:
- 2 in 5 (42%) provided an average of 60 or more hours of care per week
- 1 in 2 (45%) reported one or more physical or emotional impacts of the role
- 1 in 4 (24%) reported that they needed more respite care to support them
- 1 in 3 (28%) experienced negative financial impacts since taking on the role.
For more information, see Carers: findings from the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers.
Health services
Primary health care services
Services provided by general practitioners (GP) and other medical specialists are crucial in diagnosing and managing dementia. If a GP suspects dementia, they typically refer the patient to a specialist, such as a geriatrician, or to a memory clinic for a comprehensive assessment (Dementia Australia 2025).
How is dementia diagnosed?
There is no single conclusive test to diagnose dementia, and obtaining a diagnosis often involves a combination of comprehensive cognitive and medical assessments.
Identifying the type of dementia at the time of diagnosis is important to ensure access to appropriate treatment and services. However, there are many forms of dementia with symptoms in common, which may make diagnosis a lengthy and complex process involving multiple health professionals – see How is dementia diagnosed?
Data on GP and specialist services across Australia are a major data gap for dementia monitoring. However, recent advancements in data linkage have enabled the examination of these services through the National Health Data Hub (NHDH 2021–22).
In 2021–22, 2 in 5 services claimed under the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) by the people within the NHDH classified as having dementia (the “NHDH dementia cohort”) were for GP attendances (41%), with more attendances among those living in permanent residential aged care (46%) than those living in the community (35%).
The second most common MBS service used by people with a dementia record were pathology services (39%), accounting for 37% of services among those living in the community, and 41% among those living in permanent residential aged care. Specialist and nurse attendances, diagnostic imaging, operations and other MBS services were more common among the NHDH dementia cohort living in the community.
The NHDH dementia cohort includes anyone who was dispensed a dementia-specific medication or had dementia recorded during an emergency department presentation, hospital admission or aged care needs assessment between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2022. Anyone who died due to or with dementia between 1 July 2021 and 31 December 2022 is also included. Everyone in the dementia cohort needed to have at least one Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) record between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022.
For more information, see Primary health care services. For information about patterns of health service use among people with younger onset dementia, see Younger onset dementia: new insights using linked data.
Dementia-specific medications
Although there is currently no cure for dementia, there are 4 medications subsidised through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS), that may assist in managing symptoms and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
In 2023–24, there were nearly 737,000 prescriptions dispensed for dementia-specific medications to about 77,500 Australians with dementia aged 30 and over, under the PBS/RPBS.
People with dementia may experience changed behaviours, such as aggression, agitation and delusions, commonly known as behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. Non-pharmacological interventions are recommended to manage these symptoms, but antipsychotic medicines may be prescribed as a last resort. Inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotic medicines is a major concern for older people and was a key issue raised in the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Royal Commission 2021).
In 2023–24, antipsychotic medications were dispensed to one-fifth (20%) of the 77,500 people who had been dispensed dementia-specific medications. A higher proportion of people with younger onset dementia (aged 30–64) were dispensed antipsychotic medications (24%) compared with people aged 85 and over (20%).
In May 2025, the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) approved the use of donanemab for Australians with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease, or early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease (TGA 2025). In July 2025, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee did not recommend listing donanemab on the PBS due to the modest clinical impact and high burden of treatment (PBS 2025). In September 2025 the TGA approved lecanemab for use in early Alzheimer’s Disease. Suitable patients can access donanemab and lecanemab privately with restrictions on use due to the risk of serious side effects.
For more information, see Prescriptions for dementia-specific medications and Younger onset dementia: new insights using linked data.
Hospitalisations
In 2023–24, there were more than 12.6 million hospitalisations in Australia (AIHW 2025). Of these, dementia was the main reason for admission for about 27,800 hospitalisations, which is equivalent to 1 out of every 455 hospitalisations.
For people hospitalised due to dementia, the average length of hospital stay was 15.1 days. Most patients hospitalised due to dementia were aged 75–89 (65%), with the number of hospitalisations increasing with age up to 80–84 years (just over 6,500 hospitalisations), then decreasing in the older age groups (just over 1,000 hospitalisations in people aged 95 and over) (Figure 4).
Data presented in this section refer to hospitalisations due to dementia, that is, when dementia was recorded as the principal diagnosis. For more information, including data on hospitalisations with dementia (as an additional diagnosis or supplementary chronic condition code), see Hospital care.
Figure 4: Overview of hospitalisations due to dementia, by age and sex, 2023–24
This figure shows various measures of hospitalisations due to dementia in Australia by age and sex in 2023–24, including: the estimated number of hospitalisations due to dementia, rate of hospitalisations (per 10,000 population), bed days and average length of stay (days). Distinct patterns are explained in the previous paragraphs.
Aged care services
Aged care services are an important resource for both people with dementia and their carers. Services include those provided in the community for people living at home (home support and home care), and residential aged care services for those requiring permanent care or short-term respite stays.
How do people with dementia access aged care services?
The My Aged Care system coordinates access to a range of government-subsidised services for older Australians who require care and assistance. After an initial screening to establish the person’s needs and types of services that could help, an appointment is organised with an assessor who will undertake an aged care needs assessment.
In 2023–24, just under 40,600 (8.6%) Australians who completed an aged care needs assessment (either a comprehensive or home support assessment) had dementia recorded as a health condition. Of the aged care needs assessments undertaken by people with dementia, 3 in 4 (75%) were comprehensive assessments (for people with complex and multiple care needs).
Over 242,000 people were living in permanent residential aged care in 2021–22, and more than half (54%, or about 131,000) of these people had dementia. Updated 2022–23 data are not available on the number of people living with dementia in permanent residential aged care, and the AIHW is working to try and improve this data gap (AIHW 2024).
For more information on the services and initiatives available, see Aged care and Support services.
Spending on dementia
Australia’s response to dementia requires economic investment across health, aged care and welfare sectors. It is estimated that almost $4.7 billion of health and aged care spending in 2022–23 was directly attributable to the diagnosis, treatment and care of people with dementia. It should be noted that health care expenditure estimates use the revised Australian Disease Expenditure Database methodology and should not be compared to previous estimates.
Residential aged care services accounted for the largest share of expenditure (43%, or $2.0 billion), followed by hospital services (27%, or $1.3 billion), and community-based aged care services (17%, or $797 million) (Figure 5).
For more information, see Spending on dementia and Technical notes.
Figure 5: Health and aged care spending directly attributable to dementia by broad service area, 2022–23
This figure shows how the dementia expenditure was divided across 8 broad health and aged care service areas.
| Broad service area | Expenditure ($ billions) |
|---|---|
| Residential aged care homes | $2.04 billion |
| Hospital services | $1.28 billion |
| Community based aged care services | $0.8 billion |
| Respite care services | $0.19 billion |
| Out of hospital medical services | $0.17 billion |
| Dementia support services | $0.13 billion |
| Flexible aged care services | $0.11 billion |
| Aged care assessments | $0.02 billion |
- 'Respite care services’ include residential respite care and community-based respite care.
- ‘Out of hospital medical services’ include general practice, diagnostic imaging, specialist, allied health and pathology services as well as pharmaceuticals.
- ‘Flexible aged care services’ include the Transition Care Program and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program.
- ‘Dementia support services’ include the Severe Behaviour Response Teams, the Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Service, the National Dementia Support Program, the Specialist Dementia Care Program, the Dementia Training Program, and other programs such as improving respite care for people with living with dementia and their carers, and Dementia Friendly Communities Project.
Source: See technical notes for data sources and methods used to derive estimates for each of the service areas/programs.
Dementia data gaps and data improvement activities
Australia’s dementia statistics are derived from a variety of sources including administrative data, survey data and epidemiological studies. As each data source has incomplete coverage of people with dementia, it is difficult to accurately report how many Australians are living with dementia. This limits the ability to examine impacts of dementia on individuals with the condition, their carers and support networks, as well as the community and national health and aged care systems more broadly.
The AIHW National Centre for Monitoring Dementia have published the National Dementia Data Improvement Plan 2023–2034, which outlines the key data gaps and proposed activities to improve dementia data over the next 10 years. The Plan has scheduled reviews to reflect data developments and future priorities, and to report progress against its goals.
Several data improvement activities targeting key dementia data gaps are currently underway, including new data collections, linkages and analysis methods. For example, progress has been achieved on activity 3d, assess new self-reported dementia data collected in the 2021 Census and activity 2c, collect data on the experiences of people with dementia and their carers.
For more information, see Dementia data gaps and opportunities and the National Dementia Data Improvement Plan 2023–2034.
Estimating the incidence (new cases per year) and prevalence (total cases) of dementia in Australia is vital to evaluating the current and future impacts of dementia, and inform policy and service planning. There are several factors in the diagnostic process that affect our ability to estimate the number of Australians living with dementia, including:
- a potentially long diagnosis due to not recognising symptoms, a delay in seeking help, limited access to specialists or complexity of diagnostic processes
- no single conclusive diagnostic assessment for dementia
- a lack of national GP or specialist data collections with dementia-specific diagnostic information.
There are ongoing efforts to improve the accuracy of these estimates, such as through the utilisation of data linkage, electronic health records and the development of a national dementia clinical quality registry.
For more information, see How is dementia diagnosed?
There are limited data available on childhood dementia both within Australia and internationally. The number of deaths due to childhood dementia diseases can only be captured where they are recorded on death certificates, but are an underestimate of the true number of deaths due to coding considerations. The number of approved National Disability Insurance Scheme plans for people with two forms of childhood dementia, Rett syndrome and Juvenile Huntington’s disease can also be reported. However, this is not a complete count of the number of people with Rett syndrome or Juvenile Huntington’s disease as only people who were approved to access these services are included, and it does not capture other causes of childhood dementia. Increased awareness and research of childhood dementia is needed to improve the quality of life for children with dementia (Elvidge et al. 2023).
For findings and more information, see Childhood dementia.
Dementia statistics within Australia are largely sourced from hospital, aged care and cause of death data, likely providing a skewed view towards moderate and severe dementia. There are considerable gaps in primary health care data and data about use of services by people with dementia living in the community. There is a lack of timely data on dementia disease expenditure. Without this information, it is difficult to determine the demand for dementia services and plan for economic costs to health and social systems.
Understanding patient experiences of people with dementia and their carers is important to assess the quality of care within the health and aged care systems. There is a lack of information on these experiences, and improvements are needed to understand these qualitative aspects to improve quality of care and outcomes for those living with dementia.
For more information, see the National Dementia Data Improvement Plan 2023–2034.
There are considerable gaps in national data on carers of people with dementia in Australia. The ABS 2022 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) provides the most up-to-date national information on carers. However, this survey is limited to collecting self-reported information from co-resident carers only for people with dementia and likely under-identifies the number of people with dementia (particularly people with mild dementia living in the community). As a result, it is challenging to comprehensively understand how many Australians provide care to people with dementia and what their unmet needs may be.
For more information, see Carers: findings from the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers.
Australians living with dementia come from diverse backgrounds and have unique and variable needs for services and support. National data on people with dementia in specific population groups are limited and further research is needed.
First Nations people
Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people, the rate of dementia is estimated to be 3–5 times as high as rates for Australia overall (see How many First Nations people have dementia). Improvements are needed in the representation of First Nations people in key datasets to support better dementia prevalence estimates.
There are also limited data on First Nations-specific health and aged care services, and data on First Nations carers of people with dementia. Data on carers of First Nations people with dementia are not available as part of the ABS Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers.
Improving data in these areas will help to identify how dementia is understood and managed by First Nations people and improve the development of culturally appropriate and effective policies and services.
For more information, see First Nations Australians with dementia.
People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
For people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, access and attitudes to aged care and support services need to be considered.
Based on the 2021 Census, 4 in 5 (83%) people with self-reported dementia who were born in non-English–speaking countries and were living in the community needed assistance with core activities in areas of self-care, communication, and/or mobility (compared with 74% of people who were born in English speaking countries). This may reflect a preference for informal care or may be due to challenges in accessing suitable services. Gaps in data limit the understanding of how individual culturally and linguistically diverse communities may differ in their experiences of disease, attitudes surrounding dementia and carers, and access to and utilisation of services.
For information, see Culturally and linguistically diverse people with dementia.
Where do I go for more information?
- For detailed dementia statistics, see Dementia in Australia.
- For dementia information, education, advocacy and resources, see Dementia Australia.
- For support services and information, see Dementia Support Australia.
- For information on ageing and carers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, see Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: summary of findings, 2022.
- For information on the Australian adult population’s attitudes and knowledge of dementia and dementia risk reduction, see Australia’s Dementia Awareness Survey
For more on this topic, see Dementia.
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Royal Commission (Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety) (2021) Final report: Care, Dignity and Respect. Volume 1 Summary and recommendations, Royal Commission, Australian Government, accessed 10 July 2025.
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