Introducing the Paul Johnson Positive Ageing Award  

Applications are open for the Paul Johnson Positive Ageing Award, which is an initiative of the Positive Ageing Summit to recognise demonstrated and exceptional leadership, innovation and impact in promoting positive ageing for older Australians.  

The award is named in memory of the late Paul Johnson and includes a $1,500 cash prize sponsored by not-for-profit aged care provider BallyCara, where Mr Johnson spent over a decade pursuing healthy active ageing. 

With a dedication to reablement, health and wellness to transform aged care, Mr Johnson was posthumously awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in January this year for his services to aged welfare. 

“Paul was a leader. Through his actions, his words and his vision,” BallyCara executive chairman Marcus Riley told Community Care Review.

“Through the 10-plus years he spent at BallyCara, Paul was a senior leader in our organisation driving BallyCara’s growth and seeing thousands more people impacted by our services.

“Our mantra is to inspire healthy and happy living; a purpose that Paul was so wonderfully committed to. He had a genuine commitment for us to impact profoundly in people’s lives. 

“He believed that people’s lives could be made better irrespective of someone’s age or health status. This commitment led to many significant accomplishments including the positioning of health and wellness as core to all we do, taking BallyCara to new regions and helping us earn a fantastic reputation nationally and indeed internationally.”  

Through his dedication, creativity and intelligence, Mr Johnson impacted significantly on his colleagues, the aged care industry plus the wider community and people of all ages, Mr Riley said.  

“Paul leaves an incredible legacy through his work at BallyCara and elsewhere; not just for what he did but rather the way he did it. His passion, vision and dedication will continue to be a source of influence for us all.” 

This legacy now also includes the Paul Johnson Positive Ageing Award, which Mr Riley will present during the final session of the Positive Ageing Summit 2025 on 29 May – which is an initiative of Australian Ageing Agenda and Community Care Review.

The two-day conference on 28-29 May in Adelaide aims to inspire aged care professionals to collaborate, share evidence-based strategies and empower participants to achieve better outcomes in aged care. It has a strong focus on allied health, exercise, reablement and restorative care. 

“It is fantastic to see a major industry event established to focus on these important aspects featuring insights and perspectives from a range of areas of expertise. Having discussions and showcases dedicated to these topics will be valuable and I am sure will equip participants with great learnings and inspirations to bring back to their organisations and communities,” Mr Riley told CCR.  

Prior to announcing the winner of the award, Mr Riley will deliver a keynote including on his experience and observations of allied health, exercise, reablement and restorative care practices in action. The type of practices he thinks all aged care providers should be embedding in their services. Why?

“It’s the only way you can truly provide optimal outcomes for the whole person across the different stages of their ageing journey,” Mr Riley said. “Also because as a provider it creates the opportunity to not only provide reablement and restorative options but also proactive and preventative initiatives through which tangible outcomes can be achieved for clients and residents.”

Nominations for the inaugural Paul Johnson Positive Ageing Award close on Friday 2 May 2025. Applications will be reviewed by a panel of industry leaders and assessed on measurable outcomes and real-world benefits for older Australians along with a commitment to sustaining and growing the impact.

Visit the Paul Johnson Positive Ageing Award page to find out more and apply

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