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.

His father’s illness led him to co-found and lead Alzheimer’s associations in NSW and Australia, now called Dementia Australia, and globally Alzheimer’s Disease International, which now represents over 100 countries.

“Over more than four decades we’ve moved from hopelessness to hope, from stigma to science, in the way we understand and respond to dementia,” Brodaty said.

“I’m proud to have played a part in this transformation, alongside so many dedicated colleagues, carers and people living with dementia who continue to inspire and drive our progress.”

Brodaty, 78, co-founded the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing at UNSW in 2012 and led internationally significant research that enhanced understanding of dementia risk and prevention.

His randomised controlled trial of an intensive online lifestyle coaching program demonstrated the best results yet worldwide in maintaining cognition, with a cost-benefit analysis showing the programme paid for itself in reducing health costs.

“We can prevent almost half the risk of dementia,” he said, calling for a national healthy brain promotion program.

“Australia’s Got a proud record in prevention, smoking, skin cancer, lots of other examples. It’s a yes-brainer. We need the slip slop slap of brain health … the earlier we start, the better.”

Brodaty noted that over 430,000 Australians and over one million family carers are affected by dementia, with costs exceeding $18 billion — the same amount spent on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. By mid-century, these numbers will double.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim said Brodaty’s groundbreaking work had made an outsize contribution to health care in Australia and around the world.

“About 57 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, 60 per cent of whom live in low-and middle-income countries. The global economic cost alone is US $1 trillion,” Wertheim said.

“Cognitive decline and dementia are problems that can afflict anybody regardless of their background, so Professor Brodaty’s work gives hope to the whole of humanity.”

Wertheim said the honouring of a distinguished Jewish Australian was also a telling rebuke to those who in recent times have spread antisemitism in Australia and throughout the western world.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said Brodaty had dedicated his career to improving outcomes for people living with dementia and their families.

“His research has advanced our understanding of the condition and contributed to better approaches to diagnosis, treatment and prevention,” Minns said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Brodaty as “this amazing Professor Brodaty working on dementia and doing extraordinary work in research”.

Brodaty was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2000 and continues to see patients as a senior psychogeriatrician at Prince of Wales Hospital.