Elder Abuse Inquiry | enews | Issue 1

Welcome to the Inquiry

The ALRC has received Terms of Reference for an Inquiry into Elder Abuse. The Attorney-General announced the new Inquiry at the National Elder Abuse Conference in Melbourne on 23 February 2016.

• See Terms of Reference
• See A-G’s Media Release
• See A-G’s speech to the National Elder Abuse Conference 2016

The Inquiry will build on the ALRC’s work concerning respect for the will, preferences and rights of people who may require support in decision-making, delivered in its 2014 report Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws (ALRC Report 124), specifically mentioned in the Terms of Reference. ALRC President Professor Rosalind Croucher AM led the Disability Inquiry, and is also leading this new Inquiry.

The ALRC law reform process relies on as much stakeholder participation as possible – by individuals, advocacy groups, government and non-government organisations, and the legal profession.  We intend to renew and build on stakeholder relationships established in recent years in two Family Violence Inquiries and the Age Barriers and Disability inquiries. We encourage you to promote the Inquiry through your networks, and if you know of anyone you think might be interested in this Inquiry, please invite them to subscribe to this newsletter. 

Inquiry milestones

Initial research and consultations are underway and will continue into May. The ALRC has established an Advisory Committee for the Inquiry and its first meeting will be in May.

The first consultation document of the Inquiry will be an Issues Paper. It will be released on 15 June 2016 to coincide with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The Issues Paper will provide an overview of issues surrounding the Inquiry and will ask questions about the different matters raised in the Terms of Reference and seek information about the type and extent of elder abuse experienced in the community. The Issues Paper will call for submissions from the public.

Following the Issues Paper we will begin a national round of consultations with individuals, community groups and organisations. Professor Croucher will attend the International Federation on Ageing Global Conference in Brisbane on 21-23 June and will give a presentation about the ALRC Inquiry and Issues Paper.

We expect to release a Discussion Paper in late November 2016. This will provide a detailed account of ALRC research to that point, and will also include proposals for law reform. We will call again for submissions, this time asking for feedback on the proposals in the Discussion Paper.

The final report, with recommendations for reform, will be delivered to the Attorney-General in May 2017.

• More about the ALRC law reform process

Important dates