Australia’s Attorney-General, Christian Porter, has announced that a National Plan is to be developed to address the problem of elder abuse and ensure the protection of older people across the country.
The project will involve the Council of Attorneys-General, comprising the Commonwealth and all State and Territory Attorneys-General, who will work with ministers across health, community services and other portfolios and also consult with older Australians and the community, business and financial sectors.
The development of a National Plan was a key recommendation of the 2017 Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) Report: Elder Abuse - a National Legal Response, which highlighted a litany of examples of serious physical abuse, financial abuse, neglect and exploitation of older people.
As recommended by the ALRC, the National Plan has five goals:
- promote the autonomy and agency of older people;
- address ageism and promote community understanding of elder abuse;
- achieve national consistency;
- safeguard at-risk older people and improve responses; and
- build the evidence basis.
"Australia has an ageing population, with the proportion of Australians aged 65 or over rising from 15% of the population in 2014-15 to 23% by 2055 and there is no doubt that, as a community, we need to address the risk of abuse that faces people as they age," commented the Attorney-General.
"Abuse takes many forms and can have wide reaching emotional, financial and physical effects on victims," he said. "We have all seen or heard stories about older people facing abuse in a variety of circumstances, from financial pressure to provide family members money or change wills to abuses in aged care settings.”
"But right now we don’t have a detailed picture of the problem in Australia,” he added. “What we do know from overseas studies is that elder abuse affects between two and twelve per cent of older people and it affects both men and women.”
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In situations where older people have a genuine decision making disability and need support, Szabo & Associates, Solicitors can help with applications to the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal’s Guardianship Division. Applications can include Guardianship orders, Financial Management orders or both. We can also assist you with tailored solutions if the ‘abuse’ you are receiving relates to financial pressures from family members. Please call George Szabo on (02) 9281-5088 today to find out more about how we can help you.