About

Established in 2019, the National Centre for Healthy Ageing (NCHA) is a partnership between Monash University and Peninsula Health, with investment from the Federal Government.

At the NCHA, our mission is to transform health related to ageing for all Australians.

We are committed to driving innovation and developing solutions to tackle the most pressing challenges to healthy ageing at an individual, community and system level, to enable all Australians to live a healthy and meaningful life aligned to their values and needs.

We do this by engaging with the community – ensuring together, we design, test, and implement meaningful solutions that will have a positive impact in healthy ageing. Through our world-leading research talent and their extensive collaborative network, we work with local, state, and national partners for the greatest impact, while creating opportunities for global reach.

No other centre for healthy ageing has our unique combination of talent, research programs and technology enabled platforms – all designed with blue sky thinking to future proof efforts in healthy ageing research.

Discover more about our research and platforms

Why a National Centre? The challenge and opportunity

By 2050, life expectancy at birth for Australians is expected to increase by an average of 6 years – to 84.1 years for males and 87.7 years for females.

Australia’s population is ageing, and while people are living longer, they are not always living healthier lives. As people age, the risk and prevalence of chronic disease and dementia increase, placing growing demand on hospitals, healthcare services and aged care support.
These pressures mean the care system is not always working as it should. The impacts of COVID-19 have further exposed the challenges facing aged care, particularly for those living and working in aged care facilities.
We believe all Australians deserve to age well. In response, our Centre is working to transform the way care is delivered and experienced in Australia, through research that promotes health, independence and quality of life wherever possible.
As a key part of the Australian Government’s commitment to healthy ageing, the work the National Centre for Healthy Ageing does today will help create a future where all Australians have the opportunity to age well and thrive.
The NCHA is based on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, where a unique population demographic and healthcare setting makes it the ideal location to identify issues and opportunities, and then research, develop, test and optimise innovative models of care.
By embedding in the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula region there are opportunities to rapidly develop and implement innovative models of care leading to improvements in population health, right in the heart of where it is most needed.
The impact and outcomes of our research can also be translated to other settings across Australia and internationally.

NCHA engagement opportunities

Our engagement opportunities support shared learning and opportunities to advance practice and outcomes.

The NCHA has a thriving Community of Research and Practice.
If you are a researcher, health care professional, industry or community member with an interest in joining this network – we encourage you to sign up as a member.
Join our membership community
For any other enquiries on how you might get involved in our programs or discuss how we might be able to support your research needs, please get in touch via email: ncha-enquiries@monash.edu

A history of the NCHA

New translational facilities

In 2022 we moved into our new state-of-the-art academic research facilities at Frankston Hospital’s Ngarnga Centre. The multi-million-dollar centre was made possible through a partnership between Monash University and Peninsula Health, which included a $2 million contribution from the Commonwealth Government for a dedicated space to house the Healthy Ageing Data Platform.

Our space complements ongoing collaborative research between Monash University and Peninsula Health at Monash University’s Peninsula Campus and translational facilities which include new simulated environments for healthy ageing researchers to test solutions to improve the care provided to our ageing communities.

Founding Chairs of the NCHA Governance Group

Christina Mitchell “The NCHA is leading the way to improve standards of care for healthy ageing by bringing together researchers, clinicians, carers, service providers and consumers to research, test and implement innovative models of care that support better health, independence and quality of life. We thank the Commonwealth Government for its support.”

Professor Christina Mitchell AO
Dean, Monash Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
NCHA Founding Co-Chair

Felicity Topp “Through the NCHA, we improve health outcomes by enabling innovative translational research across Peninsula Health and Monash University. Supported by the Commonwealth Government, the NCHA is a nationally significant initiative advancing healthier ageing for all Australians. By combining living labs with cutting-edge technology, we develop new models of care that promote independence, improve health across the lifespan, and help keep people out of hospital.”

Felicity Topp,
then CEO, Peninsula Health
NCHA Founding Co-Chair

Learn more about our impact

The National Centre for Healthy Ageing acknowledges the financial support of the Australian Government Department of Health to support the Centre establishment.

For more information, please contact us at ncha-enquiries@monash.edu