ALRC Report into the Abuse of Older Australians
Wednesday 5 July 2017 @ 10.04 a.m. | Legal Research
On the 15 June 2017, after 15 months of rigorous work beginning in February 2016, the Australian Law Reform Commission has launched its Elder Abuse – A National Legal Response Report urging the Federal Government to stop the physical and financial abuse of the elderly. The Report was released on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and ideally represents a significant step in the Government’s efforts to safeguard and protect older people from abuse.
Recommendations in the Report
The Report made 43 recommendations to the Australian Attorney General, George Brandis. Primarily, the Report calls on the Council of Australian Governments to established a national policy framework in order to harmonise inconsistent rules and practices across all States and Territories. Specifically, the Report calls for a national framework safeguarding the financial and physical abuse of the elderly. ALRC President Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher argued that the framework could include the introduction of a national register of enduring powers of attorney.
Currently, there is a great difficulty in discerning the legitimacy and currency of power of attorney documentations. This leads to cases where financial planners, doctors and other professionals are unable to determine the validity of a document and consequently, can allow a person to make decisions on an elderly’s behalf where no legal right to do so exists. Professor Croucher said in response:
"The register would serve the function of ensuring that a person who is purporting to exercise the document as an enduring attorney has the authority, and that it hasn't been revoked.”
The Report also recommended a scheme that would see a national independent oversight body established to deal with serious incidents of physical, sexual and financial abuse of the elderly. This is a response to what the ALRC perceived as a limitation in existing avenues to report incidents of abuse to the Department of Health. Ms Croucher identified the current reporting system in New South Wales for abuse of the disabled as a model example for the national body.
The Report identified that aside from anecdotal evidence, there is a lack of concrete empirical evidence illustrating the extent of the problem. To this extent, the ALRC recommended the Government commission a prevalence study to ascertain the extent of the issue. Professor Croucher said the study would be used to "make the case for governments to commit dollars" to some of the initiatives the ALRC and elder abuse advocates are championing.
Mr Brandis stressed that the Report will be the foundation upon which a national understanding of the rights of older Australians will be built. He said:
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