The Aged Care Services - Specialist Dementia Care Program supports the provision of specialized, transitional residential support for individuals exhibiting very severe behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia who cannot be appropriately cared for by mainstream aged care services.

Overview

The Specialist Dementia Care Program (SDCP) is an Australian Government initiative. The program focuses on reducing or stabilizing symptoms over time, with the ultimate aim of enabling individuals to transition to less intensive care settings. The intention is for 35 SDCP units to be established, with one unit planned for each of the 31 Primary Health Network (PHN) regions. To date, 10 SDCP units have been established nationally across 9 PHN regions through Phase One Grant Opportunities. This Phase Two SDCP Grant opportunity seeks to identify aged care providers with the capacity to establish the remaining SDCP units.

Funding and Benefits

The total amount available for this opportunity is $5,500,000.00 AUD. The estimated grant value ranges from $0.00 to $5,500,000.00 AUD.

Eligibility

Eligibility varies depending on the application approach:

• Targeted Competitive grant opportunity: All eligible organizations located within the designated PHN region may apply. Notification of the Grant Opportunity will be provided via a Department of Health, Disability and Ageing - Your Aged Care Newsletter article on GrantConnect.
• Closed non-competitive grant opportunity: Only the organization specifically invited by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing will be eligible to apply through GrantConnect.

To be eligible to apply, an organization must meet the following criteria:

• Be an organization invited to apply by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (the method of invitation—email or Your Aged Care Newsletter article—depends on the approach type).
• Be an Approved Aged Care Provider.

Application Process and Timeline

Submission Instructions:

• Applications must be submitted in .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, or .pdf format.
• Applications cannot exceed 20MB in size.
• Applications must not include macros, zip files, or password protection.

Submission Details:

• Current Opportunities Submission: Applications should be submitted to Grant.ATM@health.gov.au with the email subject line “GO5304 Specialist Dementia Care Program Application” followed by the organization’s name.
• Addendum 16: Open date is 21 August 2025, and the close date is 2:00 pm (AEDT) 23 October 2025.
• Addendum 17: Open date is 28 August 2025, and the close date is 2:00 pm (time not specified, assumed to be the same as above) on the final day.

Contact Information

For further details, please refer to the official documentation or contact the relevant department.