Measure 4.2. Increased number of people assessed in memory clinics
‘Memory clinic’ is a term commonly used for services staffed with specialists in diagnosing dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). One of the goals of the National Dementia Action Plan is to increase the capacity and reach of memory clinics.
There are ongoing efforts to ensure that these services employ best practice guidelines when assessing people with dementia, leading to better outcomes for people. A key challenge for people wanting to access memory clinics is the high demand for specialist assessment services, which also impacts the timeliness of dementia diagnosis.
Some data are available from the Australian Dementia Network (ADNeT) Registry that provide insights on people who have accessed the specialist diagnostic services that have volunteered to participate in the Registry. However, there are no national data on the number of people accessing memory clinics and further data development is needed.
New participants who joined the Australian Dementia Network (ADNeT) Registry
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Indicator
Number of new participants who joined the Australian Dementia Network (ADNeT) Registry.
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Baseline value
2,619 new participants in 2024
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Latest value
Baseline value only
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Progress
To be provided in future updates
The desired outcome is that there will be better access to specialist diagnostic services and for more people to join the ADNeT Registry over time.
Change over time
Future updates of this report will track changes over time for this indicator.
Historical change over time: 2020 to 2024
Following the start of the ADNeT Registry in March 2020, 865 new participants joined the Registry in March 2020–December 2021, 1,500 joined in 2022, 1,915 joined in 2023 and 2,619 joined in 2024.
Of all participants in 2020–2024, about 2 in 3 people were diagnosed with dementia while 1 in 3 were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (Figure 4.2.1).
Figure 4.2.1: Number of new participants who joined the ADNeT Registry, by diagnosis type and year, 2020–2024
Column chart shows an increase in the number of participants each year. More people were diagnosed with dementia than mild cognitive impairment.
Of the 2,619 people who joined the ADNeT Registry in 2024:
- just over half were women (54%) and just under half (46%) were men
- 6.9% were aged less than 65, 73% were aged 65-84, and 21% were 85 or older
- 69% lived in Major cities and 31% lived in regional or remote areas (see also information under measure 1.4 (Figure 4.2.2).
- 23% were born in a non-English speaking country.
Figure 4.2.2: Number of new participants who joined the ADNeT Registry, by diagnosis type and remoteness area, 2024
Column chart shows that more new participants with dementia (789) and MCI (564) joined the ADNeT Registry from Major cities than from regional and remote areas (365 with dementia and 230 with MCI).
The ADNeT Registry is a clinical quality registry for people newly diagnosed with dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The ADNeT Registry has expanded in July 2025 to collect post-market surveillance data on disease-modifying therapies that are approved in Australia for people living with dementia or MCI.
The indicator only includes data from people who were diagnosed with dementia or MCI at an ADNeT-registered service. As such, ADNeT Registry data may not be representative of all people being diagnosed with dementia or MCI in specialist diagnostic services across Australia.
Data for population groups are reported for this most recent year of data only and where data quality allows. The published population group data describe only ADNeT Registry participants diagnosed with dementia or MCI with known sex, age, remoteness or country of birth.
National data on specialist diagnostic services are needed to complement ADNeT Registry data and fully understand the national impact of the Action Plan.
For more detailed data, including the counts used to calculate proportions, see the Supplementary data tables.
For more information, see the Technical notes.