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National Dementia Conference

Addressing the Critical Issues in Dementia Research, Treatment & Care

16-17 June 2025 | Crown Promenade Melbourne

BUY A PASS Register Your Interest Download Brochure Aged Care Reform Forum

Early bird expires on 2 May 2025 // See Pricing Below

overview

Returning for the 16th year, the National Dementia Conference 2025 will continue to bring together many leading experts, people with lived experiences, carers, healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers to share insights and shape the future of dementia care, diagnosis and treatment.

Like the previous years, this event will continue to provide a unique opportunity to discuss best-practice strategies, challenges and initiatives for improving quality person-centered care for people living with dementia and their carers.

The event is a platform to exchange information, share knowledge, create relationships, and develop a common commitment to improve the lives of people living with dementia and their carers.

KEY TOPICS INCLUDE

  • Latest Emerging Trends in Dementia Research
  • Dementia Diagnosis and Early Intervention Strategies
  • Innovations in Dementia Care and Support
  • Person-Centered Approaches in Dementia Care
  • Building Dementia-Friendly Communities
  • Assistive Devices and Digital Solutions
  • Dementia Caregiver Support and Resilience
  • Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Interventions in Dementia
  • Addressing Depression, Anxiety, and Behavioral Symptoms
  • Legal and Ethical Issues in Dementia Care and Decision-Making
  • Cultural and Diversity Perspectives in Dementia Care
  • Nutrition and Lifestyle Interventions for Dementia Prevention and Management
  • Managing Multiple Health Conditions
  • Dementia in Indigenous Communities
  • Policy and Advocacy for Dementia Awareness and Support
  • Community Engagement and Education Initiatives
  • How to Integrate Palliative Care with Dementia Care

Concurrently held with this event is the Aged Care Reform Forum that will focus on improving the way services are delivered to older people in their home, community and aged care setting.

Speakers

Dr Rutger de Graaf

Health Care Innovator, Zorggroep Zaanstreek Netherlands

Jane Verity

Founder & CEO, Dementia Care International, Melbourne Australia

Mischeal McCormick

Owner Operator & Spark of Life Master Practitioner, Adriel House & Rest Home, Amberley, New Zealand

Tania Hammond

Nurse Practitioner & Spark of Life Master Practitioner, Eyre & Far North Local Health Network, Rural & Remote Health, South Australia

Cathy Roth OAM

National Chairman, PALZ – Professionals with Alzheimer’s & related diseases

Professor Tanya Buchanan

Chief Executive Officer, Dementia Australia

Dr Joanna Sun

Lecturer & Environmental Gerontologist, Wicking Dementia Research & Education Centre, University of Tasmania

Catherine Devanny

Allied Health Research Project Coordinator, National Centre for Healthy Ageing

Dr Sally Cockburn

GP and well-known media presenter Dr Feelgood

Isabelle Meyer

Executive Director, Dementia Training Australia

Loren deVries

Senior Practitioner, Behaviour Support and Restrictive Practice Unit, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission

Dr Stephanie Daly

GP & Founder, Sensus Cognition

Jamie Lalwet

Community Social Worker, Australian-Filipino Community Services

Janine Grossman

Director of Professional Services, Montefiore

Francesca Glamorgan

Dementia Services Manager, Montefiore

Amy Sender

Dementia Consultant, Montefiore

David Galbally AMKC

Retired Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria, NSW, Perth, Tasmania & The Republic of Ireland

Dr Medha Gunawardana (PhD)

Manager - Community Strengthening, Australian Multicultural Community Services

Prof Michael Valenzuela

Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Skin2Neuron

Jason Burton

Associate Executive Director, Dementia Training Australia

Matthew Martin

Head of Business Strategy, Southern Cross Care Queensland

Dora Mansbridge

Manager of Social Support Programs – Treehouse & Treehouse4two, Central Highlands Rural Health

Paula Weekley

Treehouse4Two Retreat Coordinator, Central Highlands Rural Health

Mel White

Quality Director, Bupa Villages and Aged Care – Australia

Natalie Siegel-Brown

Inspector-General of Aged Care, Office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care

Faye Spiteri OAM

Chief Executive Office, Fronditha Care

Nigel McPaul

General Manager – Monitoring, Evaluation, and Development, Dementia Australia

Sarah Yeates

Chief Executive Officer, Caladenia Dementia Care

Agenda

8:30 am

Registration & Morning Coffee

8:50 am

DAY ONE OPENING

8:55 am

Opening remarks from the Chair

9:00 am

OPENING ADDRESS | My life with Dementia

David Galbally AMKC, Retired Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria, NSW, Perth, Tasmania & The Republic of Ireland

9:30 am

KEYNOTE ADDRESS | National Dementia Action Plan 2024 - 2034

Professor Tanya Buchanan, Chief Executive Officer, Dementia Australia

10:00 am

KEYNOTE ADDRESS | An Update on the Reforms

10:30 am

  • What does the New Aged Care Act & National Dementia Action Plan really mean for our organisations?
    • Supporting the person to make informed choices
    • Promoting equity and human rights for people living with dementia and the older person
  • What does this mean for our teams and us operationally?
  • Open disclosure and mandatory reporting

11:15 am

Hosted with Aged Care Reform Forum in the pre-function area

11:45 am

  • How effective training can assist in identifying unmet needs and challenges in the evolution of behaviour for people living with dementia.
  • The importance of knowing and observing as well as problem solving in the moment, and in different care settings.
  • Understanding what carers bring to the exchange and what they might need to do differently.
  • How the National Dementia Education and Training Standards Framework can assist in developing the right skills and knowledge to respond to changes in behaviour.

12:15 pm

The Netherlands faces growing challenges in dementia care due to an aging population and workforce shortages. To address this, we are exploring three key innovations:

  • Shifting from Professional Care to Community and Volunteer Support
  • Using Nature and Animal-Assisted Interventions to Enhance Well-Being
  • Integrating Technology Such as Robotics and Smart Home Systems

These innovations collectively aim to create a sustainable, community-driven, and technology-enhanced dementia care model, ensuring a higher quality of life for individuals with dementia while alleviating the pressure on professional caregivers.

12:45 pm

KEYNOTE | Addressing the elephant in the room: “Dementia stole my relationship!”

Dr Sally Cockburn, GP and well-known media presenter Dr Feelgood

1:15 pm

Hosted with Aged Care Reform Forum in the pre-function area

2:15 pm

  • Over 30,000 Australians live in the community with young onset dementia. Striking in mid life, these people are commonly still working, parenting young children and have a mortgage or are paying rent when diagnosed. The devastating impact of this disease affects not just the individual diagnosed, but the whole family.
  • This session will report on the findings to date of the Joint Solutions Young Onset Dementia Project and the Project’s work to develop a system of care and roadmap of services responsible for delivering that care to Australians living with young onset dementia and their families.
  • The outcomes of ‘kitchen table conversations’ with people with lived experience, the results of a national survey of stakeholders and a review of international and Australian services for this cohort will be presented.

2:45 pm

IN CONVERSATION | Spark of Life Model of Care

Jane Verity, Founder & CEO, Dementia Care International, Melbourne Australia

Mischeal McCormick, Owner Operator & Spark of Life Master Practitioner, Adriel House & Rest Home, Amberley, New Zealand

Tania Hammond, Nurse Practitioner & Spark of Life Master Practitioner, Eyre & Far North Local Health Network, Rural & Remote Health, South Australia

3:30 pm

Hosted with Aged Care Reform Forum in the pre-function area

4:00 pm

  • Strategies for early detection and diagnosis
  • Addressing common comorbidities
  • How to enhance collaborations with specialists, allied health, and community services

4:30 pm

  • What to do when someone doesn’t accept their diagnosis?
  • What are the most effective strategies for managing the behavioural and psychological symptoms?
  • How to provide person-centred care while respecting the person’s autonomy
  • How can we support carers? (family members or professionals)

5:15 pm

Closing Remarks from the Chair

5:20 pm

Hosted with Aged Care Reform Forum in the pre-function area

8:30 am

Registration & Morning Coffee

9:00 am

DAY TWO OPENING

9:05 am

Opening remarks from the Chair

9:10 am

  • The Age Care Quality and Safety Commission monitor and supports providers to understand the legislative requirements for Behaviour Support and Restrictive Practice.
  • The focus for many providers is to understand these requirements, however it is important to understand how to embed these legislative requirements into the care and services for consumers.
  • This presentation will highlight the legislative requirements and provide practical strategies to support providers and consumers.

9:45 am

KEYNOTE | Maintain Your Brain – prevent cognitive decline

Prof Michael Valenzuela, Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Skin2Neuron

10:15 am

  • What a dementia-friendly community looks like from a lived experience?
  • Ways legislation can help foster accessibility and support
  • Any latest research / innovations that can help community design
  • Grassroots actions from community members to support people living with dementia, their families and carers

11:00 am

Hosted with Aged Care Reform Forum in the pre-function area

11:30 am

  • What are the unique challenges in providing palliative care to people with advanced dementia, and how can these be addressed?
  • What are the ethical considerations in decision-making?
  • How can interdisciplinary teams work more effectively to provide comprehensive palliative care?

12:00 pm

CASE STUDY | Building DementiaReady: The journey, the impact, the lessons

Janine Grossman, Director of Professional Services, Montefiore

Francesca Glamorgan, Dementia Services Manager, Montefiore

Amy Sender, Dementia Consultant, Montefiore

12:30 pm

  • Treehouse4Two is a retreat style program for people living with dementia and their family/carer in the early stages of the diagnosis. The program has been running since May 2023 and funding will expire end June 2026.
  • Retreats provide education and support to family/carers and has a unique focus on outcomes for the person living with dementia in relation to reconnecting with their lifelong skills, experiences and resilience to enable them to live as well as possible with the diagnosis.
  • This presentation will focus on the challenges and learnings that have presented to the Treehouse4Two team and provide you with a resource tool developed in conjunction with participants living with dementia.

1:00 pm

Hosted with Aged Care Reform Forum in the pre-function area

2:00 pm

  • People living with dementia face many barriers to accessing rehabilitation.
  • Through co-design with people living with dementia, care partners, and health workers, we identified key barriers and selected solutions to improve access. Improving knowledge was identified as an important first step.
  • This led us to develop an online “Introduction to dementia rehabilitation” course for health workers. This training is strength based, and guides participants in planning action to make change in their own workplace.

2:30 pm

CLOSING PANEL | How to give quality care to people living with dementia and help their carers when they come from multi culture backgrounds

Dr Medha Gunawardana (PhD), Manager - Community Strengthening, Australian Multicultural Community Services

Nigel McPaul, General Manager – Monitoring, Evaluation, and Development, Dementia Australia

Jamie Lalwet, Community Social Worker, Australian-Filipino Community Services

3:15 pm

Closing Remarks from the Chair

3:20 pm

End of Conference & Afternoon Tea

2025 Sponsors

Gold Sponsor

exhibitors

Pricing

Packages Price
2 Day Pass - National Dementia$1999$1599+GST Early Bird Rate Early Bird Rate
2 Day Pass - Aged Care Reform$1999$1599+GST Early Bird Rate Early Bird Rate
Virtual Pass - National Dementia$1899$1499+GST Early Bird Rate Early Bird Rate
Virtual Pass - Aged Care Reform$1899$1499+GST Early Bird Rate Early Bird Rate
Extras Price
Workshop $550+GST
Streamly Access Pass $150+GST
Packages Price
2 Day Pass - National Dementia$1499$1099+GST Early Bird Rate Early Bird Rate
2 Day Pass - Aged Care Reform$1499$1099+GST Early Bird Rate Early Bird Rate
Extras Price
Workshop $550+GST
Streamly Access Pass $150+GST

Early bird expires on 2 May 2025

** Concession rate available for people living with Dementia and their carers, please contact Customer Service team (info@informa.com.au) to enquire about the rate and eligibility

Workshop

POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP
18 JUNE 2025 | 9:00AM – 12:00PM
CROWN PROMENADE MELBOURNE

Implementing best practice behaviour support to prevent the inappropriate use of RP

Workshop Facilitators:
Loren de Vries, Senior Practitioner, Behaviour Support and Restrictive Practice Unit, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Megan Cox, Director, Restrictive Practices Unit, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission

Aged Care Reform Forum

New in 2025 – Aged Care Reform Forum

Running concurrently with the 1st day of the National Dementia Conference at the Crown Promenade in Melbourne, the Aged Care Reform Forum will provide an opportunity for discussion, sharing of best practice and networking between stakeholders.

Topics to be Addressed Include:

  • Workforce: recruitment and care minute requirements
  • Transition of timeframes and overcoming strain
  • Government funding and capabilities
  • Organisational funding and priorities within
  • The reform journey
  • Case studies
  • Support for smaller, medium, and larger providers
  • Rural, regional, and remote providers
  • Innovative ways to overcome increasing costs for delivering services
  • Money, margins, and growth areas
  • Investing in technology
  • Sustainability and quality of care

 

View Aged Care Reform Forum Website

Sponsorship & Exhibition Opportunities

There are many opportunities for networking including social events such as networking drinks, refreshment breaks and lunches, making this not just a conference… but an all-encompassing industry “experience”.

Event sponsorship or exhibiting will allow your organisation to:

  • Build relationships with potential and existing clients
  • Generate leads from a high-level, targeted audience
  • Close sales in a more personal manner than via phone
  • Demonstrate your product in person
  • Network with the industry
  • Build brand awareness

To see what is on offer please contact:

Danielle Newman
Senior Business Development Manager
E: danielle.newman@informa.com
T: +61 (2) 9080 4318

2023 Testimonials

“This was a great opportunity to meet with others who share the same commitment to ensuring people living with dementia have a voice and are not defined by their diagnosis. It was also an opportunity to meet new people, develop networks and catch up with others we knew.”
Delegate 2023

“Personal stories and presentations were powerful and impacted my professional practice and personal experiences of dementia. My knowledge was increased by attending the National Dementia Conference.”
Delegate 2023

“Excellent collection of passionate people from a wide range of areas which was wonderful and very inspiring. It was great to not just focus on residental aged care”
Delegate 2023

“This is the second time I have attended this conference and not been disappointed. This year, the conference has built on last year’s presentations and exceeded my expectations. A fantastic balance of speakers from those living with dementia, carers of PLWD, health
professionals, researchers and others! Great to connect with people from many different backgrounds too! Well done to the organisers once again! I am excited for next year.”
Delegate 2023

Insights

How to manage Down syndrome and dementia
People with Down syndrome are living longer, healthier lives. Since the 1940s, life expectancy for people with this chromosomal condition has increased fivefold from just 12 to 60 years; and today, babies born with Down syndrome may live up to 80. Read more >>

Why Australia needs dementia friendly ambulances
Transport by ambulance can be a distressing experience for people with dementia. Noisy, enclosed, and unfamiliar, the environment can exacerbate symptoms, destabilise a person’s psychological health and, in severe cases, cause delirium. Read more >>

Beyond the amyloid hypothesis – how small molecules are giving hope to Alzheimer’s research
Ever since it was discovered in 1906, scientists have been rushing to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease – a form of dementia that affects 1 in 10 Australians aged over 65. Read more >>

How to manage incontinence in dementia
Incontinence is one of the most common health complaints among people living with dementia, affecting around one third of sufferers.
Read more >>

Thriving with dementia – how this man reinvented himself after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis
Read more >>

How to better care for people living with dementia
Read more >>

Should you keep someone living with Dementia in an aged care facility during a pandemic?
Read more >>

Australian Journal of Dementia Care complimentary issue for delegates
Read more >>

Craig Gear OAM: “The New Human Rights-Based Aged Care Act Will Form the Bedrock of Change.”
The aged care sector is built for older people, so it should proactively take its direction from them. As my fellow panel members continue to tell me: “Nothing about us…without us!” Read more >>

The more we talk about the importance of quality aged care, the better
Read more >>

Co-design and person-centred care keep me, as a clinician researcher, accountable to those I am to serve
Read more >>

2020 Dementia Learning Guide
Read more >>

What does dementia feel like?
In Australia 342,000 people are living with Dementia – a pervasive collection of symptoms including memory loss, confusion and apathy. Read more >>

A new therapeutic for Alzheimer’s is imminent – what is it and what will it mean?
An ageing population could see global cases of dementia and its major form Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) almost double every twenty years. Read more >>

ConnectMe + Streamly

ConnectMe • Networking enhanced

All of our events utilise a bespoke dynamic smartphone app, ConnectMe – which guarantees attendees a premium event experience. Logins are sent prior to the conference commencement allowing you to check who’s attending, schedule in meetings and catch ups, participate in live Q+A and interactive polls, and much more. ConnectMe ensures you never miss a beat prior, during and post event.

 

Streamly • On-Demand video vault

Streamly is a new video platform from Informa Connect – hosting hours of session recordings from our events and more. Select the Streamly add-on at the checkout to receive year round access to exclusive On-Demand session recordings from all of our related healthcare events*. Login information will be sent post event. For more information visit our Streamly page.

* Note: In a minority of cases, speakers may request their sessions to be excluded from Streamly access.

Event Code of Conduct

We want everyone who comes to our events to have a great experience. This code explains our expectations and rules, which includes general good practice behaviour, and how to report anything witnessed or experienced that goes against them. Read our Event Code of Conduct here.

Sustainability

Our Commitment to Sustainability

In Australia, we are committed to running our events in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Across Informa Connect we are focusing on the short and long-term sustainability impacts we have on customers and colleagues alongside the communities we work in.

We recognise that it’s not just about the way we produce our events and products but recognising that we have a role to play in providing a space to work in partnership together with our markets to inspire the sustainable development of the industries we serve.

To read more on our latest sustainability reports and Faster Forward initiatives – click here.

when & where

16 - 17 Jun 2025

Crown Promenade Melbourne
8 Whiteman Street
SOUTHBANK VIC 3006
(Queensbridge St end of Crown Complex)
(03) 9292 8888

SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION RATE
We have secured a special accommodation rate from $240* per room per night, room only, for conference attendees at the Crown Promenade for the nights of the 15-16 June 2025 inclusive.

To book this rate, click here.

* Room availability and rates are subject to availability and valid until 7 days prior to the event, unless sold out prior.
Book early to avoid disappointment.

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contact

Still have a question?

General Information & Registration
Customer Service
+61 2 9080 4307
info@informa.com.au

Speaking Enquiries
Irene Amo
Senior Conference Producer
+61 415038730
Irene.Amo@informa.com

Sponsorship & Exhibition Opportunities
Danielle Newman
Senior Business Development Manager
+61 2 9080 4318
Danielle.Newman@informa.com

Marketing & Media Enquiries
Libbie Sinclair
Marketing Manager
Libbie.Sinclair@informa.com

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