Experts at the University of Sydney, UNSW Sydney and Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) have joined forces with former NSW Premier The Hon Bob Carr, actor Michael Caton and more than 30 community organisations, health professionals and researchers, to launch Australia’s first national falls prevention alliance.

Falls cost the Australian healthcare system $3 billion a year and are a leading cause of death and injury among older Australians, with 17 dying and 400 older people hospitalised every day due to injuries connected to falls. 

Despite decades of world-leading research and proven prevention strategies, Australia has no national plan to prevent falls in older adults, one of the country’s most preventable causes of injury and death. Falls Prevention Alliance Australia is calling on the government to invest more into fall prevention and to show leadership by creating a National Action Plan with measurable strategies and targets to reduce falls. 

Professor Cathie Sherrington, a co-founder of the Alliance who works at the Sydney School of Public Health and the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health said:

"The government invests millions in preventing skin cancer and smoking-related diseases, yet despite a third of falls being preventable, there’s little comparable investment to stop these avoidable injuries and deaths.

“We have an ageing population in Australia. Without investment in prevention programs, the problem of fall-related injuries and deaths will continue to rise. We need action now and strategies for people living in their own homes as well as aged care.” 

Evidence-based methods for preventing falls include simple interventions such as balance and strength training, regular reviews of medication and modifications to the home such as handrails and ramps. 

The Falls Prevention Alliance Australia is calling for Federal and State governments to:

1. Develop a National Falls Action Plan – modelled on the 2024 Dementia National Action Plan, a falls action plan would set measurable reduction targets and coordinate the delivery of evidence-based interventions across states and territories;
2. Increase funding for intervention programs – for example to support community exercise programs and provide additional Medicare and health fund rebates for care;
3. Fund a national public health campaign – similar to those for smoking prevention and skin cancer, the campaign would provide Australians with practical information about how to prevent falls and where to go for advice.

Professor Kim Delbaere, Discipline Lead of Physiotherapy at UNSW’s School of Health Sciences and Senior Principal Research Scientist at NeuRA, said: “Australia is a world leader in falls prevention research, but we are lacking a strong coordinated approach which could help to reduce falls across the country rapidly.”