The DTA Environment Activity Cards aim to spark conversations among staff, residents and visitors about residential aged care and retirement living buildings.
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Designing aged care environments that support dignity, wellbeing and connection at every stage of life.
Home Matters: Rethinking Aged Care Design was an eight-part webinar series we ran with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. It explored how well-designed environments improved quality of life for older people and supported safe, effective aged care workplaces.
Grounded in the National Aged Care Design Principles and Guidelines, the series brought together lived experience, research, design expertise and provider perspectives.
Webinar Series
Each webinar is now available as a standalone recording, complemented by practical tools and real-world case studies. The eight-part webinar series provided practical strategies, case studies and expert insights on aged care design.
1. Living Well in Care: A Conversation for Older People
Audience: Older people, families and carers
This opening session supported older people and those close to them in navigating decisions about moving into residential aged care. It explored what prompted a move into care, unpacked the range of options available, and highlighted the key social, clinical and financial factors to consider when choosing a home, offering valuable insights to guide confident, informed decisions.
2. Designing Better Aged Care Environments
Audience: Aged care and design professionals
This session introduced the series and offered an insightful overview of the National Aged Care Design Principles and Guidelines. It explored how cognitive change could influence behaviour and revealed how thoughtfully designed environments can reduce anxiety, agitation and distress, highlighting the powerful role design plays in supporting wellbeing.
3. Principle 1: Enable the Person
Audience: Aged care and design professionals
This webinar unpacked Principle 1: Enable the Person, focusing on supporting health, wellbeing and a strong sense of identity. Presenters explored how thoughtfully designed environments could promote independence and dignity while balancing safety and risk, demonstrating how design can empower people to live with confidence and choice.
4. Principle 2: Cultivate a Home
Audience: Aged care and design professionals
This session explored Principle 2: Cultivate a Home, focusing on creating warm, familiar environments that foster privacy, choice and a strong sense of belonging. It highlighted how thoughtful design can transform spaces into places people truly feel at home.
5. Principle 3: Access the Outdoors
Audience: Aged care and design professionals
This webinar examined Principle 3: Access the Outdoors, showcasing the vital role of nature, fresh air and movement in supporting health and wellbeing. It inspired new ways to connect residents with the outdoors through purposeful, inclusive design.
6. Principle 4: Connect with Community
Audience: Aged care and design professionals
This session focused on Principle 4: Connect with Community, exploring how environments can strengthen meaningful relationships with family, friends and the wider community. It demonstrated how design can nurture connection and reduce social isolation.
7. Designing Culturally Safe Aged Care
Audience: Aged care and design professionals
This webinar introduced a complementary resource to the Principles and Guidelines, centred on designing culturally safe aged care homes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It offered powerful insights into creating environments that respect culture, identity and connection to Country.
8. Transforming Aged Care Homes
Audience: Aged care and design professionals
The final session explored opportunities to improve existing aged care environments and plan for new builds. Through real-world case studies, presenters demonstrated how older spaces could be thoughtfully transformed using staged, practical and cost-conscious design interventions.
Environments Training Program
We train design, property management and care professionals to collectively help create supportive environments for people living with dementia and other aged-related dispositions.
Our consultancy service can help you create a dementia-friendly environment.
- Available nationwide
- Learn how to use an existing building more effectively, plan a refurb, or build new
- A multimodal, scaffolded approach to training
Care Home Assessment Tool (CHAT)
The Department of Health and Aged Care has developed this Assessment Tool to support the application of the National Aged Care Design Principles and Guidelines.
The Design Principles and Guidelines aim to improve quality of life for older people living in residential aged care homes. The tool will guide users through each of the four Design Principles and the Guidelines that sit beneath them.
Try CHAT NowEnvironments Resources
We are about to repaint our facility, what colours should we pick? What sort of furniture should we choose? How can we make our outside spaces more dementia friendly? What type of signage can help with wayfinding?
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Environments Courses
Discover related courses below or browse all courses.
Explore why environments matter and how you can help support transformation of the places you work to better support people living with dementia.
- Tier
- Foundational
- Duration
- 4 hrs
- Delivery
- 100% online
- Certificate
- Certificate provided
- Cost
- Free