Hornsby Shire Steps Up for Dementia Action Week 2026

Dementia Action Week is taking place from the 21st to the 27th of September 2026, and this time; Dementia Australia wants people to speak up. 

Despite dementia’s dominance as Australia’s leading cause of death in 2024, public knowledge regarding the debilitating disease remains shockingly low. According to a report done in 2023 by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, whilst Australians understand some ways they can combat dementia, a not insignificant portion of them – 1 in 5 (22%) – believed that dementia was an inevitability, and came naturally with the aging process. 

Dementia Australia hopes to change that with this year’s Dementia Action Week campaign theme: “It’s Time To Talk About Dementia”. Professor Buchanan, in a video posted on the campaign’s website, laments Australia’s inaction.

“We’re not talking about dementia anywhere near enough in Australia”, she says. “We talk about our heart health, our gut health. We talk about slip, slop, slap, seek and slide as we should. But right now there are nearly half a million Australians living with dementia and in 40 years there will be more than 1,000,000 Australians living with dementia.”

There’s an almost dry sense of humour to be found in Buchanan’s callback to the CancerCouncil’s iconic SunSmart program slogan. It’s a line CancerCouncil themselves have noted for its iconicness, being “so successful that it’s become part of our every day language” – but even its success in preventing melanoma has been dwindling in recent years as the memory of the campaign fades.

Fortunately, Dementia Australia and other communities supporting the initiative are in no shortage this year, with a variety of events for both those suffering from or in care of those with dementia to attend this coming September, ensuring the issue stays at the forefront of the nation’s mind.

In the Hornsby Shire, a free cruise on the iconic Riverboat Postman is scheduled to run on the 15th of September from 10am to 1pm, with spots strictly limited to Hornsby Shire residents with dementia and their carers. Mayor Warren Waddell hopes the event will foster an environment for its attendees to “unwind and connect with others who understand their journey.” Tickets are limited and advance booking is recommended.

Two other notable events occurring within the Hornsby area for the initiative are the Dementia Expo on the 24th of September in Hornsby Westfield from 10:30am to 1pm, and Dementia Australia’s Young Onset Dementia talk at the Hornsby Library on the 25th from 2pm to 3pm. The latter, run by dementia care specialist and Team Leader Michele Ferris in Client Services at Dementia Australia, aims to address questions relating to young onset dementia, and discuss ways to combat it. Details on the former are limited at this point in time.

Hornsby Shire’s weekly DCaf events will continue to run as normal, available Monday to Friday at differing locations and times. For further details, please visit Hornsby Shire’s website.

For anyone unable to attend any of these events, or just seeking further insight, there’s still a wealth of online resources available on the Dementia Australia website. They range from podcasts and articles that give firsthand accounts of dementia carers and patients’ experiences, to informational content that can educate how to best manage and prevent cases of dementia.

It’s important to conclude that at its core, Dementia Action Week is about just that – action. Organised involvement isn’t the only way to engage with the campaign, notes Dementia Australia.

“A national conversation about dementia is made up of thousands of smaller ones… every conversation can tell someone it’s safe to speak up, that they’re not alone, and connects them to support they didn’t know exists.”

For further information on events run by Dementia Australia during September, please visit their website.