In what will impact on aged care in Australia, 2013 Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Grants open next month, with up to $1.6m available to emerging researchers looking at dementia.

Ita Buttrose, Alzheimer’s Australia’s national president, has said a lack of government dollars devoted to dementia-research still persists. The organisation has called on the government to match community support.

“With dementia already the third leading cause of death in Australia, it is imperative that the government increases its investment in research to $200 million over the next five years," she said.

"This will allow us to successfully build the capacity of Australian researchers and help them find ways of delaying the onset of dementia, to treat symptoms and even better, to stop dementia altogether.”