Do you provide NDIS dementia support in Cairns?

Yes. Dementia Care Queensland is a registered NDIS provider supporting people living with dementia and cognitive decline in Cairns and across all of Queensland. We work with NDIA managed, plan managed and self managed participants.

Do you support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in Cairns?

Yes. We plan support with the person and their family and, where they wish, with Elders and community controlled health services, so that it is respectful and fits the person's culture and community. That includes planning a move closer to Country or family.

Do you support people outside the city, in Port Douglas or Innisfail?

Yes. We support people in Port Douglas, Mossman, Gordonvale, Babinda and Innisfail, as well as across Cairns and the northern beaches. Call us early so we can plan rostering for the towns further out.

How quickly can support start in Cairns?

We respond to every referral the same business day, and always within 24 hours. We match a dementia trained worker within 4 days, source a medium term home in 5 to 7 days, and complete SIL placement in 7 to 14 days.

Can hospital teams and support coordinators in Cairns refer directly?

Yes. Hospital social workers, OTs, discharge planners, NDIA health liaison officers and support coordinators can all refer directly. We attend discharge meetings, case conferences and MDTs at no charge, and send a written progress update every week during medium term accommodation.

North and Far North Queensland

Dementia care Cairns

Specialist NDIS support for people living with dementia and cognitive decline across Cairns. Call us any time, day or night.

Call 24/7 · 0439 143 082 Make a referral

Palm trees along the Cairns Esplanade under a soft pink twilight sky.

Specialist dementia care, close to home.

Cairns is where the rainforest meets the reef, a city that runs from Gordonvale and Edmonton in the south through the city suburbs to Smithfield and the northern beaches of Trinity Beach and Palm Cove, with Port Douglas, Mossman and Innisfail beyond. It is a diverse community, including many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, and people here look after each other. We have Supported Independent Living homes in Cairns, purpose built and set up for dementia and Huntington's disease, and they are our nearest homes for all of Far North Queensland. We work closely with the team at Cairns Hospital, and one named contact stays with the person and their family from referral to permanent home.

Make a referral Call 24/7 · 0439 143 082

Services in Cairns

What we offer in Cairns

All 8 of our services, and what each one looks like in Cairns.

Specialist Support Coordination
Available
Specialist level coordination for complex situations across Cairns.
About support coordination
Dementia Home Care
Available
Dementia trained support at home, with a worker matched within 4 days.
About home care
Supported Independent Living (SIL)
Homes in this region
1:1 and 2:1 homes in Cairns, set up for dementia and Huntington's disease.
About SIL homes
Medium Term Accommodation
Available
A home sourced in 5 to 7 days for every referral, for up to 90 days.
About medium term accommodation
Short Term Accommodation and Respite
Available
In-home respite across Cairns. Ask about the nearest respite home.
About respite
Community Nursing
Not available in this region, call us
Not currently available in this region. Call us to talk about options.
Call 0439 143 082
High Intensity and Complex Care
Available
Complex health and behaviour support, including 2:1, across Cairns.
About complex care
Community Participation
Available
Keeping work, hobbies and friendships going, with a dementia trained worker.
About community participation

Specialist support coordination in Cairns

Our specialist support coordinators work with participants, families and hospital teams across Cairns. We coordinate at the specialist level only, for situations that are complex: a hospital discharge, a housing crisis, changed behaviours or needs that are changing fast.

Read about Specialist Support Coordination

Dementia home care in Cairns

Dementia trained support at home across Cairns: personal care, domestic assistance, companionship, community access and overnight support, active or sleepover. We match a worker within 4 days, and every worker is trained on the person's own assessments and plans before their first shift.

Read about Dementia Home Care

Dementia SIL homes in Cairns

We have Supported Independent Living (SIL) homes in Cairns. Every home is 1:1 or 2:1, purpose built and set up for people living with dementia and Huntington's disease, and placement takes 7 to 14 days.

Read about Supported Independent Living

Medium term accommodation in Cairns

When someone cannot go home yet, we source a Medium Term Accommodation (MTA) home in 5 to 7 days for every referral, from hospital or the community. Stays last up to 90 days, staffed 1:1 or 2:1, while we gather the evidence for the right long term plan.

Read about Medium Term Accommodation

Dementia respite in Cairns

In-home respite is available across Cairns, always with at least 1:1 support. Respite home stays start at 14 days, and emergency respite is available. Ask us about the nearest respite home to Cairns.

Read about Short Term Accommodation and Respite

Community nursing in Cairns

Community nursing is not currently available in Cairns. Call us on 0439 143 082 to talk about options. High intensity supports, such as enteral feeding and catheter management, are still available in Cairns through our high intensity and complex care service.

Read about Community Nursing

High intensity and complex care in Cairns

For people in Cairns with complex health or behaviour support needs: complex bowel care, enteral feeding (PEG), severe dysphagia, epilepsy and seizure management, catheter care, subcutaneous injections and complex wounds. We also support behaviours of concern, exit seeking and regulated restrictive practices where authorised, including 2:1 support.

Read about High Intensity and Complex Care

Community participation in Cairns

Keeping work, sport, hobbies, friendships, routines and community roles going in Cairns, with a dementia trained worker alongside. The aim is a week that still looks like the person's own.

Read about Community Participation

A woman in her sixties and her adult daughter smiling together in a sunlit living room by the verandah doors.

Hospital to Home

Hospital to home in Cairns

We work closely with the teams at Cairns Hospital. When a patient living with dementia or cognitive decline is medically ready to leave but has nowhere safe to go, we meet them on the ward, not at the front door. We attend discharge meetings at no charge, source a medium term home in 5 to 7 days, and send the treating team a written update every week. One named contact stays with the person from referral to permanent home.

Make a referral How Hospital to Home works

Areas we cover in Cairns

We support people in these suburbs and towns, and everywhere in between.

Cairns City
Smithfield
Gordonvale
Port Douglas
Cairns North
Parramatta Park
Bungalow
Portsmith
Edge Hill
Whitfield
Manunda
Manoora
Mooroobool
Westcourt
Earlville
Woree
White Rock
Mount Sheridan
Bentley Park
Edmonton
Redlynch
Freshwater
Brinsmead
Trinity Beach
Trinity Park
Kewarra Beach
Clifton Beach
Palm Cove
Mossman
Innisfail

Don't see your town? We cover all of Queensland. Call 0439 143 082 and we will talk through what is possible where you live.

The same standards in every region.

Same day: Referral response, same business day and always within 24 hours
Same day: First contact with the person and their family
4 days: Worker matching
5 to 7 days: Medium term accommodation home sourced, for every referral
7 to 14 days: SIL placement
No charge: Discharge meetings, case conferences and MDTs attended
Weekly: Written progress update to the treating team and coordinator during medium term accommodation
1 contact: One named contact from referral to permanent home

In their words.

“When Mum was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at 58, we were completely lost. Every provider we called said they 'do dementia too' but it was always an afterthought. Dementia Care Queensland was the first place where the person on the other end of the phone actually understood what we were going through.”

Sarah M.Daughter of a participant living with young onset Alzheimer's, Cairns

“I'm 54 and I've been living with vascular dementia for two years. I still want to live. I still want to be me. The team at Dementia Care Queensland gets that. They've helped me stay in my own home, keep doing the things I love, and plan for a future I can feel dignified about.”

Michael R.Participant living with young onset vascular dementia, Gold Coast

“As a referring clinician, I need to trust that the providers I recommend can match the complexity of my patients' conditions. Dementia Care Queensland is the only NDIS provider I refer dementia patients to without hesitation. Their coordinators ask the right questions, understand disease progression, and plan ahead.”

Dr James T.Neurologist, Brisbane

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Questions about dementia care in Cairns

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Dementia changes a lot. Not who they are.

Call us any time, day or night, or send a referral and we will respond the same business day.