are underway to educate and engage the broader community about dementia, and also to provide social support and community engagement for people living with dementia and their family members. Projects have also been developed which focus on improving physical environments for people with dementia. Internationally, numerous programs have been implemented that aim to promote social inclusion including with a specific focus on creating dementia-friendly societies and dementia-friendly organisations. concept of dementia friendly societies, including international and Australian examples. discussion of: · Lessons learned from other approaches to organisations in Australia Postdoctoral Research Fellow Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania Aged Care Nurse Practitioner, Department of Health and Human Services, Tasmania, Older Persons Mental Health Dr Martin Morrissey Old Age Psychiatrist, Department of Health and Human Services, Tasmania, Older Persons Mental Health Carl Higgs Research Assistant, Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania Dr Christine Stirling Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Tasmania an open referral policy and nurse-led features on client's ability to gain early cognitive assessments in an Australian memory clinic. diagnosis, multiple barriers mean the condition is under diagnosed. Memory clinics have demonstrated effectiveness at providing diagnosis and care coordination. Memory clinics are typically led by multidisciplinary teams and require health professional referral. Nurse-led clinics may provide an effective and less resource intensive alternative, and open referral policies may minimise barriers to diagnosis. profiles of clientele (n=57) attending a nurse- led memory clinic over nine months were collected and analysed, and differences with published literature were qualitatively compared. Approximately half of the clients of this memory clinic received diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Almost three quarters of clients were self- referred to the NLMC, of which 35% (14 of 40) were diagnosed with MCI or dementia. The |