Our strategic plan articulates our core goals of strengthening AAG’s profile, building partnerships and alliances, promoting our membership and driving organisational success. It also lists our vision, purpose, mission and goal, as well as our six key values.

Every day, we work towards our:

• Vision of a world where every person is valued, heard, seen and respected as we age
• Purpose to build a community of experts connecting evidence and experience to inform and influence decisions related to ageing
• Mission to connect research, policy and practice
• Goal to be recognised as Australia’s thought leaders on ageing.

We are guided by our values of being:

• Purpose-led: Driven by a guiding purpose
• Enterprising: Innovative, responsive and resourceful
• Trusted: Promoting integrity, honesty and reliability
• Collaborative: Building, connecting and supporting a community of experts
• Inclusive: Embracing diversity and respect in all that we do
• Authoritative: Harnessing evidence and expertise.

• We take a systemic, whole-of-system approach to ageing and aged care
• Our members include researchers, educators, policy makers, health professionals, service providers and advocates for older adults
• We co-own and publish Australasian Journal on Ageing, the leading journal on ageing and geriatrics in the Asia Pacific region, in partnership with COTA Australia and the Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine
• Through the AAG Research Trust, we identify, promote and fund high-impact research and innovative practice in ageing
• We convene special interest groups to represent those with particular needs or at higher risk of being marginalised or disadvantaged as they age
• We facilitate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Advisory Group (ATSIAAG), whose members inform the policy and practice arena of older First Nations Peoples of Australia
• We bring together collaborating research centres at universities and institutes across Australia
• We represent Australia’s gerontology community on the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG); administer the executive office of the IAGG Asia/Oceania Region and the Australian International Longevity Centre, which is a member of the ILC Global Alliance; ; and are a ‘sister’ organisation to the Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine and the New Zealand Association of Gerontology.

Our patron is the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC.

The foundations of AAG were laid on 5 July 1962, when Dr Geoffrey Hughes and Dr Arthur Everitt established the Gerontological Society of New South Wales. The following year, Dr Sidney Sax and Sir Giles Chippendall (then president of the National Old Peoples Welfare Council) collaborated with Dr David Wallace to further the development of AAG.  

AAG's official recognition as an association came in 1964, with the inaugural national conference held at the Australian National University in Canberra in June of that year. Since then, AAG has established itself as the peak membership body representing gerontologists from a broad range of professional backgrounds, including geriatricians, academics, researchers, nurses and allied health professionals. 

International role

AAG has been instrumental in developing and promoting gerontology internationally. AAG has had representation on a range of international advisory committees and delegations, including the Australian delegation to the First World Assembly on Ageing held in Vienna in 1982. AAG has been an active member of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) from its beginning. Key roles held by AAG members include: Dr Gary Andrews was IAGG's 16th president, from 1997-2001 Professor Keith Hill is a Past Chair of the IAGG Asia/Oceania Region AAG Past President Professor Julie Byles is Chair of the IAGG Asia/Oceania Region Social Research and Planning Scientific Sub-committee Both Keith and Julie are AAG’s representatives on the IAGG Council Renu Borst, as CEO of AAG, is the Executive Officer of the IAGG Asia/Oceania Region. In 1997, AAG hosted the IAGG World Congress in Adelaide. At this congress, a joint UN Office on Ageing and IAGG project was established: ‘The Research Agenda on Ageing for the 21st Century’. Past Presidents of AAG The principal role of AAG’s President is to manage and to provide leadership to the Board. We acknowledge the significant contribution of Past Presidents, who have generously given their time and expertise to AAG.

Our visual identity

The banksia was first adopted as a mark for AAG in the late 1970s. Like AAG, the banksia is uniquely Australian. For us:

• It represents the four life stages on a single plant: infancy, youth, the middle years and older age
• The hundreds of flowers on each spike reflect our philosophy of multidisciplinary collaboration to provide a holistic understanding of ageing
• The design portrays our collaboration, diversity and reach.

Follow this link for more information about our visual identity with the banksia 

Past presidents of AAG

The principal role of AAG’s President is to manage and to provide leadership to the Board. We acknowledge the significant contribution of Past Presidents, who have generously given their time and expertise to AAG.

AAG is a registered not-for-profit organisation which does not operate for financial benefit. The AAG Research Trust is the research grant arm of AAG. It is a wholly independent charitable organisation structured as a public ancillary fund with deductible gift recipient (DGR) Two status and is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC).  

• AAG Board 
• Governance documents 
• Annual general meeting (inc AGM & GM minutes and Financial statements)

We are proud to formally acknowledge members who have given outstanding service and support to AAG. Please contact AAG’s National Office if you would like to know more about the nomination and award process.

• Life Member
• Distinguished Member
• Fellowship
• Special awards

The AAG Network of Research Centres (formerly known as the Collaborating Research Centres) brings together leading ageing research groups across Australia to drive collaboration, influence policy and practice, and strengthen the impact of ageing research.

Network members work with AAG to advocate for a national research agenda, share expertise, develop joint projects, and contribute to national and international gerontology initiatives, and to inform the work of the AAG Research Trust.

The Network’s activities support our work as a health promotion charity promoting the prevention, control, and management of diseases, as well as advancing evidence-informed policy and practice across the sector.

Through strategic partnerships, we collaborate with other organisations and key stakeholders to enhance research, policy and practice. Together with and on behalf of our partners, we:

• Raise the profile of ageing
• Share and promote evidence-based knowledge
• Ensure multiple perspectives are used to inform policy and practice.

AAG acknowledges and celebrates our Country’s rich 65,000+ year history and recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' profound connection to the land, water and sky. We are committed to ensuring that decisions affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are guided by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices fostering more effective, informed, and just policies.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Advisory Group (ATSIAAG)
• Friends of ATSIAAG
• Grants for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led projects.