Aged Care Research & Industry Innovation Australia (ARIIA) has announced the 10 recipients of its 2025 Accelerator Grants, backing a new wave of ground-breaking projects set to reshape how aged care is delivered across Australia.
From wearable technology and AI-powered palliative care tools to music-driven dementia interventions and culturally respectful care for Aboriginal and CALD communities, the selected projects reflect ARIIA’s mission to fund evidence-based solutions that translate into real-world aged care improvements.
“These grants are about driving genuine transformation in the aged care sector,” said ARIIA CEO Reuben Jacob. “We’re focused on backing innovative ideas that improve outcomes for older Australians and empower the aged care workforce.”
Funded through the Aged Care Collaborative with support from the Commonwealth Government and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the grants add to the $16.9 million ARIIA has already invested in innovation since 2021. A further $6 million in grant and sector co-contribution funding will be released this year, with additional Flagship Project Grants to be announced soon.
The 10 successful 2025 Aged Care Collaborative Accelerator Grant recipients are listed below, including Goldilocks Suit, winner of the Health & Wellbeing category in the 2023 Future of Ageing Awards, run by this publication.
- Goldilocks Suit in partnership with ECH Inc, University of Adelaide, ThincLab, Shenzhen Qingather Biotechnology for the project ‘Enhancing Quality and Access to Specialist Dementia Care Through Goldilocks Technology’.
- The University of Melbourne, in partnership with the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, for the project ‘Music Attuned Technology to predict and treat agitation in people with moderate to severe dementia’.
- La Trobe University, in partnership with Sunraysia Community Health Services, Monash Health, Jacaranda Village and Regis Mildura Aged Care for the project ‘AI-Powered Palliative Care Assessment Tool (PCAT) for Aged Care Workforce Support’.
- Harbison Memorial Retirement Village, in partnership with the University of Canberra and the University of Technology, Sydney, to implement a post-diagnostic allied health program run by a rural aged care provider for people in the community with dementia.
- University of Tasmania in partnership with Emmerton Park for the project ‘Deepening connections: Cultural storytelling at the heart of respectful and safe care for Aboriginal people in residential care’.
- Australian Multicultural Community Services in partnership with Swinburne University of Technology for the project ‘Empowering CALD Home Care with AI: Minimising Paperwork, Maximising Workforce Capacity’.
- Bolton Clarke, in partnership with Queensland University of Technology, to implement an aged care context-specific digital decision support tool to enable best practice.
- University of the Sunshine Coast, in partnership with Suncare Community Services, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing and University of California, Davis, to deliver Homeara+: EnhancingHealth Smart Home Monitoring with Machine Learning to Support Ageing in Place and Regional Aged Care Workforce.
- Deakin University, in partnership with La Trobe University and Sundale for the project ‘Identifying and reducing stress and job turnover in aged care workers using an innovative virtual-reality approach’.
- Sound Scouts in partnership with Whiddon, Hearing Australia and Macquarie University for the implementation of the Sound Scouts Hearing Screening technology in regional Australia.
Over 70% of projects will be implemented in rural or regional areas, ensuring innovation reaches underserved communities.
“This year’s winners demonstrate how bold ideas, grounded in evidence and community need, can drive sector-wide change,” said Dr Rebecca Bilton, ARIIA Program and Research Director. “It’s about building a more capable, agile and person-centred aged care system.”
ARIIA has many programs and resources to support providers’ use of technology: www.ariia.org.au
