Researchers from Alzheimer’s Australia say the country is facing a wave of dementia, and one community is at much greater risk than the others.

Current stats say there are 322,000 people living with dementia in Australia, but another 1.5 million are affected directly or indirectly as carers or friends or family members.

With about 17,000 new cases of dementia each week, Australia’s third leading cause of death will only claim more lives.

But the problem is worse in Indigenous communities, where a new study has found greatly increased rates of dementia.

Aboriginal people have dementia at a rate three to four times higher than the rest of the population.

The disease also appears to occur at earlier ages than for non-Aboriginal people.

Dementia strikes at an average age of 72 among Aboriginal populations, rather than 79 for non-Aboriginals.

Before the election last year, the Coalition promised an extra $200 million over five years towards dementia research.

Chris Hatherly, National Research Manager with Alzheimer's Australia, told the ABC that programs are needed to stem the rising tide of dementia and better prepare Indigenous populations and healthcare facilities.

“Even though the Indigenous population in Australia is relatively small, they're disproportionally affected by dementia. So we have to make sure that any program, any service, any research really does pay attention to the Indigenous population,” he said.

The research has been published in the Medical Journal of Australia, and is featured in an editorial about the issue.