A new $38m dementia network is being set up to help improve access to care and research programs for thousands of Australians diagnosed with the brain disorder.

A chain of memory clinics will be set up as part of a national dementia network designed to improve research and find cures for the brain disorder.

Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt says the federal government will provide $18 million to set up the Australian Dementia Network, with universities, businesses, philanthropists, and state governments chipping in another $20 million.

The memory clinics will help speed up assessment of people with brain disorders, improve access to specialist care, and help volunteers prepare to participate in clinical trials and other research programs.

"ADNet will lift the standard of Australian dementia diagnosis and care, with a coordinated and consistent approach," Mr Wyatt said on Monday.

"By significantly increasing public access to, and participation in, clinical trials it will also speed the development and approval of new prevention and treatment therapies."

More than 425,000 Australians are estimated to be living with dementia.

The brain disorder is the second leading cause of death among all Australians, claiming more than 13,000 lives a year.

It is has also overtaken heart disease to become the leading cause of death for women, who account for more than two thirds of dementia-related deaths.

The new dementia network will also research the causes of the disorder as well as track its progression and help find new treatments.

It will also have close links with research programs in Europe and the United States.