Default text -The demand for aged care services is continually growing with more older people choosing to age in place and living longer. This leads to more complex care needs, stretching the workforce across broader geographical areas with limited access to the specialist skills needed to support place-based care and provide high-quality care at the scale needed in the future.
Accelerator Grant Projects
The Accelerator Grants will fund projects that augment the current aged care workforce to deliver specialist care, support, knowledge and resources to where they're needed via digital or assistive technology, telehealth, or innovative workforce and human service models.
Default text with sub nav - The sector recognises that recruitment and traditional workforce solutions alone will not address this challenge, and there is opportunity to support and augment the current workforce to meet these increasing and complex needs.
The Accelerator Grants will fund projects that augment the current aged care workforce to deliver specialist care, support, knowledge and resources to where they're needed via digital or assistive technology, telehealth, or innovative workforce and human service models.
This project aims to integrate specialist dementia support into the entire care team using Goldilocks technology (wearable monitor). By providing real-time insights, Goldilocks will help upskill care providers, ensuring that support workers, care co-ordinators, primary care givers and loved ones can access expert guidance and insights to enhance dementia care.
A trial will be conducted with ECH in SA, embedding Goldilocks into their care model to support aged care workers with continuous, data-driven insights. In China, Qingather Biotechnology will facilitate a parallel trial, adapting the solution for local aged care providers. These trials will assess how Goldilocks can bridge the gap between specialist dementia expertise and everyday care teams, improving workforce capability and care delivery.
The University of Adelaide will provide academic rigor, ensuring that the project is underpinned by evidence-based methodologies and thorough evaluation. By combining ECH’s expertise, Goldilocks’ technology, and academic validation, this project will enable aged care providers to deliver high-quality dementia care at scale, empowering care teams to provide more effective and timely support.
Lead Partner: Goldilocks Suit
Supporting Partners: ECH Inc, University of Adelaide ThincLab, Shenzhen Qingather Biotechnology
Availability
The next Innovation Capability Program will commence on 11 August 2025. Applications are now open until 31 July 2025. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at ariia@ariia.org.au, or click the Enquire now button at the top of the page to register your interest in the next round and we will send you a link when applications are open. Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your innovation skills and drive meaningful change in the aged care sector.
Program delivery details
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This project builds on the success of the previously developed Palliative Care Assessment Toolkit (PCAT) funded by ARIIA in 2023 by transforming it into an AI-driven, web-based application to support aged care clinicians in the early identification and management of residents requiring palliative care. The original PCAT demonstrated significant improvements in care coordination, symptom management, and workforce confidence, leading to better palliative care outcomes.
The proposed project will enhance its impact by digitalizing the toolkit and integrating AI-driven decision support to streamline assessments and improve efficiency. The digital PCAT will incorporate established palliative care assessment frameworks, including SPICT™ and Palliative Care Needs Rounds, ensuring standardized, evidence-based decision-making. The tool will be particularly beneficial for rural and regional aged care facilities, where access to specialist palliative care is limited and lack of access to skilled workforce. Following a structured implementation approach, the project will include co-design with stakeholders, pilot testing, staff training, and rigorous evaluation through pre- and post-testing.
Lead Partner: La Trobe University
Supporting Partners: Sunraysia Community Health Services Ltd, Monash Health, Jacaranda Village, Regis Mildura Aged Care
This project addresses a critical gap in post-diagnostic dementia support and ensures skilled workforce resources are available to a rural locality with high demand for dementia services. The Sustainable
Personalised Interventions for Cognition, Care, and Engagement (SPICE) program is a comprehensive, multicomponent rehabilitation program delivered by a collaborative allied health team that enhances
quality of life, independence, and well-being of people with dementia and their care partners. It contains evidence-based cognitive stimulation therapy, education, physical activity, personalised strategies, and dietary advice. SPICE is innovative as it ensures specialist workforce skills under high demand are made
available to many people due to the group nature of the program. SPICE has been running since 2022 in the ACT and is funded to mid-2028, however, it is yet to be implemented beyond this region. This project
aims to establish SPICE in a rural aged care setting with the addition of rehabilitative technology (Motiview) where twenty-one people from the community with dementia and their care partners will participate to access effectiveness and provide feedback.
Lead Partner: Harbison Memorial Retirement Village
Supporting Partners: University of Canberra, University of Technology Sydney
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