The Royal Commission into Aged Care looks at the experiences of people with dementia this week.

“Dementia is probably the biggest issue facing aged care and the provision of quality of aged care for older adults,” Professor James Vickers, director of the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre at the University of Tasmania, has told the ABC.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows dementia was Australia’s second leading cause of death in 2017, claiming almost 14,000 lives.

That number is up almost 70 per cent in the last decade.

Around 450,000 people currently live with dementia, but that number should rise to almost 1.1 million by 2058.

Experts say that as the number of people with dementia increases, aged care workers will need more specialised training.