A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic argues the nation needs leadership, not 'more of the same', in order to meet the challenges of an ageing population.

Ms Robin Harvey, lecturer and course director for the Master of Gerontology in the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Albury-Wodonga, said adequately funded professional leadership development is essential to meet the future challenges in the interrelated ageing, health, and human services sectors.

"The population is ageing, creating new challenges for the health and aged care sectors. However, the increasing knowledge base for health and aged care will also identify new opportunities," Ms Harvey said. "Service providers in these sectors will need to have specialist knowledge and the capacity to apply critical analysis to both policy and to service practices.

"Managers and practitioners in these fields will need the skills to lead, and to adapt and extend evidence-based practice to improve the experience of ageing."

Ms Harvey said leaders in these sectors will also need to be capable advocates for those in their care, for their workforces, and for the development and implementation of sound public policy.

"The federal government's recent 2015 Intergenerational Report appeared to assume that recent and current trends in health and aged care would remain stable," she said. "But the Report seemed to not consider alternative scenarios or the likely impact possible changes might have on its projections.

"In reality, we need to be able to collaboratively generate and examine many options that will lead us to improved policy, service models, quality of care, sustainability of service provision, and greater understanding of the complex processes of ageing.

"Transformative learning and interdisciplinary education are two key aspects of education that have been identified* to enable health professionals to responsively improve the quality and equity of healthcare.

"We need to work together conscientiously to develop leaders who can translate research knowledge into best practice for Australia's ageing population," Ms Harvey said.