Brodaty named Senior Australian of the Year

Jewish physician and researcher Professor Henry Brodaty was named the 2026 Senior Australian of the Year on Sunday.

The dementia treatment pioneer, who arrived in Australia as a one-year-old with his Holocaust survivor parents, said the honour was poignant and extraordinary, especially in the aftermath of the Bondi massacre.

“I would like to dedicate this to all of us who are older and will, hopefully, become older,” he said at the awards ceremony in Canberra on Sunday night.

“I especially dedicate the award to those affected by dementia and their families, to my father who died with dementia aged 59 and to my mother who was his carer.”

In 1972, Brodaty’s father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at just 52 years old. At that time, dementia was poorly understood and often ignored, with little support for people living with the condition or their carers.