Bright ideas will be rapidly turned into practical solutions for dementia, palliative and complex care with the launch of Hammond Innovations, unveiled today at the Ageing Australia National Conference 2025.
HammondCare CEO Andrew Thorburn announced the new initiative, which will combine research, creative design, technology and cross-sector partnerships to address the challenges of Australia’s ageing population.
Experienced health innovator Dr Anna Barker has been appointed Executive General Manager of Hammond Innovations. She will lead the program by bringing together the expertise of The Dementia Centre, The Palliative Centre and The Centre for Positive Ageing.
Mr Thorburn said Dr Barker’s 20 years of experience in healthcare, aged care and research innovation, alongside her leadership roles in Australia and internationally, made her an outstanding choice to spearhead the initiative. “Hammond Innovations will build on HammondCare’s pioneering legacy of improving quality of life for people in need,” he said.
Dr Barker said the program would focus on real-world solutions, not research that “remains in journals without being embedded in practice.” She said the aged care sector faced growing pressures from workforce shortages, preventable harms, rising costs and administrative burdens, with evidence often too slow to be translated into action.
“We want to deliver what matters most – happier, healthier days for older Australians with more nights on their own pillows. For care practitioners, we want more hands held and fewer pens pushed.”
Dr Anna Barker
At the heart of Hammond Innovations will be the IDEA Hub – standing for Insight, Design, Evidence and Action – described as an engine room for identifying problems, testing solutions and scaling what works. Partnerships with technology providers, universities, philanthropists and aged care organisations will support the initiative.
Key priorities include:
- developing safer, digitally enabled care environments in homes, residential care and hospitals
- creating AI assistants and digital tools to ease workforce pressures and streamline administration
- supporting older people and caregivers through new technologies and networks.
Digital innovations already market-ready, such as smart lamps, radar sensors, AI companions, digital pill boxes and VR therapy, will be explored for their potential to enhance care.
