New App Aims To Boost Dementia Workforce Capabilities

A new mobile tool from Dementia Australia is set to support health, aged care and disability workers in delivering better care for people living with dementia, as providers prepare for compliance with the upcoming Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards.

The app-based tool, Tell TiNA, offers education and performance tracking functions to help organisations assess the capability of their workforce and target dementia-specific skills development.

Dementia Australia Executive Director of Services, Advocacy and Research, Dr Kaele Stokes, said Tell TiNA would help providers identify areas for improvement ahead of the November 2025 rollout of the new quality standards.

“People living with dementia have specific care and support requirements that cannot be delivered without appropriate education and training of the workforce,” Dr Stokes said.

“This tool will support providers to take a continuous improvement approach to the care they deliver, as well as assess the strengths and areas of development within their workforce to build a comprehensive dementia care training strategy.”

She emphasised that dementia education needs to be ongoing and embedded into professional development frameworks, not delivered as a one-off initiative.

“Dementia education must not be a once off. It needs to include a regular process of formalised continuing professional development that benefits people receiving care as well as staff themselves.”

Lived Experience Shapes Focus On Staff Support

Dementia Advocate, Col, who cares for his wife now living in residential aged care, said workforce development was a key issue for families and carers.

“There needs to be a lot more support for staff – training should be continuous,” he said.

Tell TiNA is designed to meet that need by offering tools that are available in real time and aligned with national dementia care standards. The tool has been mapped to the Dementia Training Australia National Dementia Education and Training Standards Framework.

Ai-Powered Delivery Designed For Real-World Use

The tool was developed in collaboration with Deakin University’s Applied Artificial Intelligence Initiative (A2I2), which provided technical support and helped shape the concept.

Deakin Distinguished Professor, Kon Mouzakis, said collaboration between technology and dementia experts ensured the tool was useful in real-world care settings.

“Our team is proud to work with Dementia Australia to develop technologies like Tell TiNA, which provides resources for care workers to best support people living with dementia,” he said.

Accessing The Tool

Tell TiNA is available through the free Ask Annie mobile app, which can be downloaded from standard app stores. While individual users can preview the platform, providers and care organisations can subscribe for access to a management dashboard that tracks workforce engagement and performance metrics.

To enquire about the full version of Tell TiNA, providers can visit dementia.org.au/tell-tina.

A broader catalogue of dementia training tools and courses for professional development is also available at dementia.org.au/professionals/professional-development-and-training.

Last Updated on July 3, 2025 by Nick Ross