Dr Jane Townson OBE

Chief Executive, Homecare Association

Jane Townson is CEO of the Homecare Association. She has extensive experience in the social care, health, housing and technology sectors. Chair of the Board of Kraydel; formerly CEO Somerset Care Group; and Chairman YourLife (JV with McCarthy & Stone). Jane’s first career was in international leadership roles in research and development in ICI, AstraZeneca and Syngenta, where she was Global Head of Bioscience Research. She then established her own business providing consultancy and training on the link between lifestyle factors and public health, working with private individuals and public sector organisations.

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Tom Symondson

CEO, Ageing Australia

Tom Symondson is a respected voice for aged care, serving as the inaugural Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ageing Australia, the national peak body representing the majority of organisations providing aged care and housing for older Australians.

Since 2022, Tom has led Ageing Australia’s mission to champion a high-performing, trusted and sustainable aged care sector that empowers older Australians to age with dignity, care and respect.

With over 20 years of experience spanning aged care, public health, and local government sectors in both Australia and the UK, Tom has been at the forefront of policy reform, driving meaningful advocacy and shaping strategy to improve care outcomes for over 1.5 million older Australians.

In early 2024, Tom was appointed to represent Ageing Australia and its members on the National Aged Care Advisory Council. The Council was established in response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, and council members provide expert advice to government on key matters relating to the aged care sector.

Tom’s previous roles include CEO of the Victorian Healthcare Association and senior policy positions in one of the United Kingdom’s largest local councils. Tom has also served on a range of government boards and taskforces, including the Australian Government’s Aged Care Taskforce and as a Board Director of one of the largest superannuation funds in Australia, Aware Super.

Tom’s leadership is defined by his unwavering commitment to advocacy, collaboration and ensuring older Australians receive the care and support they deserve.

Professor Marta Szebehely

Professor Emeritus of Social Work, Stockholm University

Marta Szebehely is a Professor Emeritus of Social Work at Stockholm University, Sweden. She has been partnering and leading several Nordic and international comparative research projects on eldercare, and for almost four decades, she has analysed how policy and organisational changes in eldercare have affected the everyday life of care workers, older people with care needs and their family members. Recently she has contributed to a book comparing labour force strategies in Canada, Norway and Sweden: The Labour Force Crisis in Long-Term Care: The Right to Care (Edward Elgar, 2024, Open Access)