Our Story

The Chairman of CommonAge, Andrew Larpent, was fortunate to be offered a place on Commonwealth Study Conferences Leaders (CSC Leaders) programme. Andrew’s involvement took him first to London in March 2013 for a week of immersion in the challenges and opportunities facing communities from Commonwealth countries living in the UK.

It was during this programme that the initial concept for CommonAge was developed and tested. It was overwhelmingly supported as one of the leading initiatives to be taken forward after the study conference.

On 22 July 2013, a workshop hosted by Compass Group, was held Melbourne to discuss the formation of CommonAge.

Those involved with this meeting, (pictured, from left to right) were:

• Klaus Zimmermann, non-executive director in a number of companies
• Richard Catto, Independent Consultant, Wellington NZ
• Stuart Flynn, formerly CEO, Southern Cross Care (WA)
• John Kelly, formally CEO, Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA)
• Helen Jones, formally General Manager Strategy and Service Development, Australian Unity
• Chris Straw, Group Managing Director, Thomson Adsett Architects
• Rebecca Reidy, formally Manager Business Enhancement, Compass Group
• Duncan Harris, Executive Advisor, Litmus Group
• Judy Martin, former National Corporate Relations Manager, ACSA
• Stephen McIntyre, formally Executive Director Healthcare, Compass Group
• Janice Chia, Managing Director, Ageing Asia Pte Ltd
• Andrew Larpent, Chief Executive Officer Southern Cross Care SA & NT
• Philip Morrice, formally Consultant, TFG International

CommonAge was officially launched in Melbourne, Australia in November 2013.

The then Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma warmly welcomed the CommonAge initiative, which fills the gap within the 53 Commonwealth countries to:

‘Advance the interests of older peoples throughout the Commonwealth by building capability and capacity in health and aged care services’.

Read his message here.

We are deeply grateful for the generously support of the organisations and Founding Members who assisted CommonAge in those early days. Without their services and assistance, CommonAge wouldn’t exist.

The CommonAge group of professional CEOs and supporters across the Commonwealth are committed to building the Global Ageing Network and reaching out to developing countries. 

While we believe we have much to offer to countries where services for the ageing are in the early stage of development, we also believe we have much to learn from developing countries where traditional respect for the wisdom and dignity of older people remains a prominent cultural attribute.

We welcome you to join us and help grow the network.