Australian and New Zealand Falls Prevention Society

Falls and fall injuries are a large and growing problem for all Australians. Fall injuries can be devastating for individuals and their loved ones and the cost to the Australian healthcare system is $2.3 billion each year. The Australian and New Zealand Falls Prevention Society have 5 recommendations for government.

1. Establish a National Falls Prevention Coordination Group, modeled on the coordinated
and nationally funded action in the United States and United Kingdom, adapted for the
Australian context and informed by previous initiatives in Australia and New Zealand

2. Develop and implement a 5-year national plan for preventing falls that is funded to
reach a critical mass of community-dwelling older people and those in residential care

3. Engage all levels of government and a broad range of sectors, including health and
aged care, housing, transport, and planning and development

4. Include falls prevention strategies for people across the lifespan and in all settings to maximise benefits

5. Greater investment in translational falls prevention research

#fallsprevention #neura #ANZFPS

Other Useful Resources:

• Australian and New Zealand Falls Prevention Society website
• Falling costs over $2 billion per year
• ANZFPS Flyerv2 – PDF
• Falls Cost Everyone – PDF
• Australian and New Zealand falls report – PDF