Anita Westera
In this Let’s Talk Ageing episode, we hear from Anita Westera, President of the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG).
Interview summary
Date: 03 November 2025
Anita shares the biggest challenges older Australians face, and why her mum is her role model. From smuggling food to patients in Nazi-occupied Holland to raising seven kids and returning to nursing in her 40s, Anita says her mother’s ‘humility, courage and tenacity continue to inspire me today’.
Read the interview
Who is an older or younger person who inspires you and why?
The person who has inspired my ageing‑related journey is my late mother.
As a young psychiatric nurse in Nazi‑occupied Holland during the winter famine of World War II, she smuggled food from the family garden into the hospital, past armed guards, to feed her patients.
After migrating to Australia, she and my father raised seven children without extended family support, despite significant health and financial challenges.
Returning to nursing in her forties, she worked night shift in a nursing home known as a last resort for people with severe dementia or mental health issues. Her humility, courage and tenacity continue to inspire me today.
What do you see are the key challenges people face as they get older?
My views are informed by nearly four decades of work across clinical, policy, research and advocacy settings, where I have seen first‑hand the impact of government policy on the health and wellbeing of older people.
From my perspective, the most critical issue is the impact of decades of neoliberal and austerity policies that have reduced government capacity to deliver evidence‑based policy and programs.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety described this clearly in its Interim Report titled Neglect. Significant reforms are now underway to rebuild public sector capability and support evidence‑based approaches, which is very welcome.
Tell us about the work the Australian Association of Gerontology has been doing to address these challenges.
As President of the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG), I work with the Board, CEO and staff to connect research, policy and practice to improve the experience of ageing.
What first drew me to AAG was the commitment of its diverse membership to work collaboratively to improve outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations with health and care needs.
Today, our members and staff co‑create knowledge, build communities of practice, and support the next generation of research and practice leaders through knowledge‑translation activities and grants programs.
How can others get involved or support this work?
The ethos of AAG is working together to achieve practical and sustainable change across sectors, disciplines and jurisdictions, both nationally and internationally.
We invite anyone interested in supporting evidence‑informed policy and practice to join us on that journey.
Learn more about our national conference, Ageing at the Centre, hosted from 11–14 November in the Northern Territory, or visit the AAG website.