TeleCHAT, The Queensland Aphasia Research Centre

TeleCHAT 2024


The Queensland Aphasia Research Centre (QARC) aims to improve the lives of people with aphasia through research and service development, based on partnerships between people with aphasia, their family members and friends, clinicians, researchers, health services and support groups.

Established in 2019, QARC is a research centre at The University of Queensland. It is located in the Surgical, Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS) in Brisbane, and works in partnership with Metro North clinicians as part of the STARS Education and Research Alliance.  QARC is the first centre of its kind in Australia focused on aphasia and embedded within a health service.

Since its conception, QARC has:

  1. led the development of new aphasia treatment programs that increase access and improve outcomes;
  2. enabled increased access to technology for people living with aphasia;
  3. fostered increased collaborations between therapists, researchers, and people living with aphasia;
  4. provided support, training and resources for therapists and students

The philanthropic partnership with the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia will evaluate the feasibility of establishing a comprehensive telerehabilitation service for aphasia (dubbed TeleCHAT) across the state of Queensland (Australia). The program will address a major unmet need in the vast state where 38% of the population live in remote and rural areas. The ultimate goal is to develop a program that can be available world-wide.