The 7th Annual Ageing Population Summit

A preliminary announcement for the
The 7th Annual AUSTRALIA’S AGEING POPULATION SUMMIT
28-30 September 2011 | Rendezvous Hotel, Melbourne

Australia’s population is ageing while population growth is expected to slow. With about two million people 70 years of age and over at present, this number will double by 2029. This presents the challenge of an increasing and changing demand for access to quality and affordable aged care and carer support services for older people including through subsidies and grants, industry assistance, training and regulation of the aged care sector.

There are concerns about healthcare funding in Australia and about the adequacy of the pension. What will happen to people as they require more care and the growing need to find skilled people to do that caring? Will the $16 million budgeted Government funding for 2011- 2012 be enough? The Productivity Commission’s final report to the Government is due in June and will review the future workforce requirements of the aged care sector, to develop options to ensure that the sector has access to a sufficient and appropriately trained workforce.

This year’s Ageing Population Summit will address the latest updates on policy, demographic forecasts, healthcare funding and the 3rd biggest killer of all Australians: Dementia! The program will also look at service delivery issues for the ageing population in rural and remote locations, upcoming development on technology and innovation, infrastructure planning and early rehabilitation in the aged care sector. Aged care workforce is a hot topic of discussion, reviewing aged care staffing and recruitment challenges as well as trends in flexible housing options to cater to the specific requirements of the ageing population will also be discussed.

This year’s agenda will assess:

• The pressures on an ageing population on healthcare funding
• The impact of recent changes to the pension and superannuation
• Mental health in the ageing population - Understanding the growing epidemic of dementia
• The importance of rehabilitation services in the aged care system
• Workforce issues facing the ageing population
• Staffing of care givers in the healthcare workforce
• Assessing overseas housing trends within local communities and offering the choice of lifestyle tailored to the ageing population
• Innovations in nanotechnology to improve treatment, care and independence of older people
• The provision of infrastructure to sustain an ageing population