The Centre for Ageing Studies was established in 1987 initially to provide a base for the planning of the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Since this time the centre has become involved in many projects and consultancies, both international and nationally. 

In May 1988 the centre was designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Ageing. In 1989 the centre was responsible for the successful bid for Adelaide to be the site of the XVIth International Congress of Gerontology in 1997.

The longitudinal studies which the centre is developing in Australia and China have led to a key role for the centre in the WHO's global research on the 'Determinants of Healthy Ageing'.