Future Care

In 2025-26, we advanced major innovations to make care safer, more personal, and more connected across Australia.

Our Research and Innovation team codesigned and tested new service solutions including digital and virtual models of care with more than 1,000 clients, carers, and employees. By grounding every research and innovation project in lived experience and our clients' needs, we ensure our solutions are effective.

We expanded our research into the mental health of older Australians by completing the Enhanced Management of home Based Elders with Depression (EMBED) pilot in Victoria. We began recruitment of more than 800 aged care clients for a clinical trial in Western Australia and South Australia to further assess the program’s long-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness. We expect results from the randomised controlled trial in 2026-27 and are working towards delivering the EMBED model of care within our standard aged care services so more older people have access to this vital support.

As part of our commitment to creating a better home care system for everyone, we designed and launched the Foundations in Mental Health training, which we offer free of charge to the aged care sector. This program equips aged care workers with essential skills to meet the growing mental health needs of older Australians and enables other home care providers to train their own employees. The training aligns with the Australian Government’s strengthened aged care standards, which emphasise mental health care and emotional wellbeing. In 2025-26, more than 2,400 of our aged care workers completed the training, and more than 50 other aged care providers have adopted it.

In the 2025-26, donors to Silverchain Foundation funded the pilot of Silverchain Lunch Club – a 12-week online group program that reduces isolation and loneliness for people receiving aged care at home. The program’s initial results are very positive, with group members reporting increased confidence, a stronger sense of purpose, and appreciation for the social connection the program offers. 

The program will continue thanks to the support of the McCusker Charitable Foundation. If you too would like to support this program, please visit Silverchain Foundation. 

Building on our focus on innovation, we continued to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) as a core capability in 2025-26. Our bespoke AI solutions address real care delivery challenges and workflows, helping us improve care quality and productivity while enhancing the human touch that defines our care. At Silverchain, we are creating AI tools to support our care and clinical teams, so we can deliver more care to more people.

We piloted an AI-powered appointment reminder, a first for home care in Australia, to improve our clients’ experience at Silverchain. The appointment reminder handles routine scheduling conversations, and clients can opt out or speak to a person whenever they wish. Early results are promising and we’ve seen high client acceptance, low opt-out rates, with only about 2% percent of AI calls requiring transfer to a person.

Our investment in research and innovation to improve health and aged care at home is possible thanks to the generosity of Silverchain Foundation donors. Their support enables us to continue advancing care for Australians in their homes.