With more than 200,000 older Australians still waiting for home care, a forthcoming forum will show how smart technology can help meet care targets and ease critical workforce shortages.

The 4th NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN) Ageing Forum, Ageing in Place with Dignity in a Better-Connected World, will examine how smart technologies can be funded and embedded within aged care packages.

NSSN Human Health Lead Catherine Oates Smith said with a looming workforce shortage, rising hospital demand, and major federal reforms underway, Australia’s aged care system is at a tipping point.

She said technology is increasingly seen as essential to helping older Australians live independently, safely, and with dignity.

“This forum is about moving the conversation from if we integrate technology into aged care to how—and just as importantly, who pays for it,” Ms Oates Smith said.

“If we want older Australians to live with dignity, independence, and safety at home, our funding models must evolve to reflect real-world needs. This is a clear call for federal and state governments to work together—federal funds aged care, while states run hospitals—to ensure the system is connected and sustainable.”

Ms Oates Smith said smart home technologies and AI such as wearables can transform everyday data into actionable care, keeping older Australians at home longer and out of hospital.

The 4th NSSN Ageing Forum – to be held at NSW Parliament House on Thursday 30 October 2025 – will bring together leading voices from government, industry, and research.

It will focus on federal policy changes, device integration, and data operability and governance, with the aim of driving consumer-centred design and real-world adoption.

Confirmed speakers include:

Richard Taggart, Chief Executive, eHealth NSW and CIO, NSW Health
Dr Abby Bloom, AgeTech expert and NSSN Board Member
Lucy Brogden, Australian Unity
Sandra Cook, Australian Digital Health Agency
Professor Kathy Eagar AM, UNSW and QUT
Dr Jill Freyne, Amazon Web Services and NSSN Deputy Board Chair
Dr Ian Oppermann, Standards Australia, ServiceGen and NSSN Board Member

Professor Kathy Eagar AM, Adjunct Professor of Health Services Research at UNSW and QUT, said the first of the baby boomers turn 80 next year, which is the average age that people need support to live safely at home.

“In the next 10 years, an extra three quarters of a million Australians will turn 80, putting unprecedented pressure on both the aged care and the health care systems,” Prof Eagar said.

“Neither system is geared up for this increase in demand and we certainly do not have the workforce we will need if we just keep doing more of the same. New technology must be part of the equation as we plan ahead.

“In planning for the technology we need, we must be clear that social isolation and loneliness are two of the most significant problems that older people experience. We do not want technologies to replace human contact. We need new technologies to make it easier for older people to engage and be connected with families and communities.”

"Through initiatives like Health Connect Australia, the Australian Digital Health Agency is driving efficiencies that make aged care safer for consumers and more effective for providers,” Branch Manager of Connected Care Solutions at the Australian Digital Health Agency, Sandra Cook said.

”This national health information exchange will empower individuals with greater control over their data and strengthen collaboration across care teams, laying the foundation for a connected system that supports dignity, independence, and better outcomes for older Australians."

AgeTech expert and NSSN Board Member Dr Abby Bloom said innovation based on solid research is a key to solving the funding and carer shortages in Australia’s longevity economy.

“AgeTech is essential, well and truly established globally, with very significant investment pouring in,” Dr Bloom said.

“Australia needs to do more to back its leading thinkers and entrepreneurs to roll out solutions here and around the world.”

At last year’s forum, researchers unveiled preliminary results from an Australian-first survey of 1,000 older Australians, their families and carers—funded by Maridulu Budyari Gumal, the Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE).

The survey revealed strong support for government-funded technology in the home, with respondents saying they would welcome it if it allowed them to keep living independently.

NSSN Ageing Forum to tackle urgent aged care questions