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   AAG SECG December 2025 Webinar
Implications of National Aged Care Reforms for Research in Aged Care

Since the release of the interim and final reports of the Aged Care Royal Commission, the Australian Government has implemented once-in-a-generation aged care reforms. The most recent changes include the new Aged Care Act and the Support at Home program, which came into effect on 1 November 2025. Many of these reforms are in response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission. These changes are reshaping the way aged care is delivered, governed, and monitored, creating both challenges and opportunities for researchers.

This webinar will explore how aged care reform is influencing the research environment, particularly for 
early career researchers working in ageing and aged care. This will be followed by an interactive ‘Q&A’ discussion with participants.

Attendees of this webinar will:

• Understand the recent aged care reform landscape.
  
• Discuss how aged care reform affects research priorities, data access, funding models, and collaboration opportunities.
  
• Learn how early career researchers can position themselves to contribute meaningfully to aged care research in a reform-driven context.

Hear from our speakers: 

Prof David Currow
Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor, Flinders University 
Adjunct Professor of Palliative Medicine at University of Technology Sydney

Distinguished Prof David Currow is a physician by training and a widely published academic with research in reducing the burdens of cancers; population prevalence of symptoms, their impacts and their control; and health services research. He has held competitive research grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Institutes of Health (USA) and the National Institute of Health Research (UK). He currently holds an NHMRC Level 3 Investigator Grant. He is a Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor at Flinders University and adjunct Professor of Palliative Medicine at University of Technology Sydney.
Prof Currow was previously NSW Chief Cancer Officer; Chief Executive Officer of the Cancer Institute NSW; and foundation Chief Executive Officer of Cancer Australia.
He was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences in 2015 and Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW in 2024. 

Prof Maria Inacio 
Director, Registry of Senior Australians Research Centre, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute
Matthew Flinders Professor of Health Services and Epidemiology, Registry of Senior Australians Research Centre, Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University
Emerging Leadership 2 Fellow, National Health and Medical Research Council
Prof Maria Inacio is an epidemiologist with expertise in registries and health and aged care services research. She is Director of the Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) Research Centre at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute  and Flinders University, leading the design and implementation of ROSA’s research program. The ROSA Research Centre houses 30+ researchers dedicated to high priority areas for our ageing population.
ROSA’s work has been used as evidence in 5 Royal Commission into Aged Care reports and resulted in an Australian Government Senate Motion for the implementation of quality outcome reporting for the sector as well as subsequent reforms including the national quality indicator program expansion and establishment of the Star Ratings Program. In over 8 years as ROSA  Director, focussing on quality and safety monitoring in aged care, she has produced >130 publications and contributed to 8 Royal Commission into Aged Care investigations.
Prof Maria is also a member of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Aged Care Data Advisory Group, Department of Health Aged Care Quality Indicator Program Technical Advisory Committee, Star Ratings Expert Committee, and Australian Dementia Registry Steering Committee.

Facilitated by:

Introduction to webinar (Convenor)

Dr Tesfahun Eshetie
Research Fellow
Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) Research Centre, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and Flinders University Caring Futures Institute
Adjunct Research Fellow, University of South Australia
Lead, Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Student and Early Career Group (SECG) National Professional Development and Events
Dr Tesfahun Eshetie is a Research Fellow at the Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) Research Centre, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and Flinders University. His current program of research focuses on aged care and pharmacoepidemiology, with a particular emphasis on evaluating and improving the quality and safety of aged care services. Dr Eshetie serves as the lead Postdoctoral Fellow for the ROSA Outcome Monitoring System, a national pragmatic quality and safety monitoring and benchmarking system for the aged care sector.

Q and A facilitator

Kaylee Rudd
Junior Research Fellow
Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre
University of Tasmania
Kaylee Rudd is a Junior Research Fellow at Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre. Her research aims to understand the association between cognition and movement and to identify potential motor biomarkers to help detect early changes related to cognitive impairment. She worked as a physiotherapist in various clinical settings including hospitals, private practice, aged and community care. She is a member of the award winning TasTest team (Vice-chancellor's Award 2023 and the Trailblazing Discovery Research Award). In 2021, she received Wicking Centre Erica Bell Honours Scholarship.