COTA SA welcomes the commitment by SA Labor to invest in dementia support and the wellbeing of unpaid carers. COTA SA has called for a statewide action on dementia and brain health in our 2026 State election platform, and today’s announcement is a positive step to addressing one aspect of South Australia’s top chronic health challenge.
COTA SA Chief Executive Miranda Starke said Labor’s announcement of a $500,000 investment in a Dementia Carers Wellbeing and Education Program addresses a genuine need in our community to support families caring for around 35,000 South Australians with dementia. However, she noted that more action will be needed to meet the scale of the challenge at a systemic level.
“COTA SA’s Voices of older South Australians report found that many older South Australians who take on caring roles are doing so at great cost to their personal wellbeing. They told us about the financial strain, the emotional exhaustion, and the isolation that so often come with caring and how invisible and undervalued they feel within the current system," Miranda says.
"Carers of people with dementia also experience stigma, fear and grief to compound the caring challenges. Labor’s announcement is a positive and welcome step for carers to feel confident, equipped and supported in their role."
“However, to truly meet the scale of the dementia challenge to support people who need care right now and reduce the prevalence of dementia into the future, we need to coordinate efforts across the sector so we can work smarter as a state, share knowledge, and coordinate strategy.
"As the oldest demographic mainland state, South Australia urgently needs to upskill its health and aged‑care workforce so dementia care becomes business as usual, and not something delivered only by specialists in specialist aged care facilities.
“Dementia is not simply an aged‑care issue, it touches every part of life and most South Australians have experienced its impact in some way whether as carers, family members, friends or community members. That’s why COTA SA will continue to advocate for statewide action to connect activities and integrate them across sectors, portfolios, communities and families so that we are all working strategically together for people with dementia and those who love them.”