Australia’s ageing population is growing faster than the systems built to support it, especially for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. A co-designed, public–private aged care model offers a practical, humane and economically sound path to meet this challenge before crisis overwhelms the system.

Australia is facing an ageing population tsunami and we are not ready for it.

Across the nation, our older population is growing faster than the systems designed to support it. Among them are culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) Australians, for whom language, faith, food, family structures, and cultural expectations remain central to wellbeing. Yet aged care continues to operate on a one-size-fits-all model – one that fits no one and fails too many.

Nearly one-third of Australians were born overseas. Many who arrived in the 1980s and 1990s are now entering their 60s, 70s, and 80s. More than one million Australians aged over 65 speak a language other than English at home. Across cities and regional centres alike, multicultural populations are growing faster than the national average.

These older Australians are far from a fringe group. Many are highly educated former professionals, business owners, and skilled workers. They are financially stable, socially connected, and eager to live with dignity in environments that allow them to practise their cultural, social, and spiritual traditions for as long as possible.

But ageing changes everything. As mobility declines and dementia emerges, many will no longer be able to remain at home. As dementia progresses, people often revert to their mother tongue, making English communication increasingly difficult. Without culturally aligned support,........

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