Questions

What is elder abuse?

Question 1            To what extent should the following elements, or any others, be taken into account in describing or defining elder abuse:

  • harm or distress;
  • intention;
  • payment for services?

Question 2            What are the key elements of best practice legal responses to elder abuse?

Question 3            The ALRC is interested in hearing examples of elder abuse to provide illustrative case studies, including those concerning:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people;
  • people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities;
  • lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people;
  • people with disability; or
  • people from rural, regional and remote communities.

Question 4            The ALRC is interested in identifying evidence about elder abuse in Australia. What further research is needed and where are the gaps in the evidence?

Social security

Question 5            How does Centrelink identify and respond to people experiencing or at risk of experiencing elder abuse? What changes should be made to improve processes for identifying and responding to elder abuse?

Question 6            What changes should be made to laws and legal frameworks relating to social security correspondence or payment nominees to improve safeguards against elder abuse?

Question 7            What changes should be made to the laws and legal frameworks relating to social security payments for carers to improve safeguards against elder abuse?

Question 8            What role is there for income management in providing protections or safeguards against elder abuse?

Question 9            What changes should be made to residence requirements or waiting periods for qualification for social security payments, or the assurance of support scheme, for people experiencing elder abuse?

Question 10          What other risks arise in social security laws and legal frameworks with regard to elder abuse? What other opportunities exist for providing protections and safeguards against abuse?

Aged care

Question 11          What evidence exists of elder abuse committed in aged care, including in residential, home and flexible care settings?

Question 12          What further role should aged care assessment programs play in identifying and responding to people at risk of elder abuse?

Question 13          What changes should be made to aged care laws and legal frameworks to improve safeguards against elder abuse arising from decisions made on behalf of a care recipient?

Question 14          What concerns arise in relation to the risk of elder abuse with consumer directed aged care models? How should safeguards against elder abuse be improved?

Question 15          What changes to the requirements concerning quality of care in aged care should be made to improve safeguards against elder abuse?

Question 16          In what ways should the use of restrictive practices in aged care be regulated to improve safeguards against elder abuse?

Question 17          What changes to the requirements for reporting assaults in aged care settings should be made to improve responses to elder abuse?

Question 18          What changes to aged care complaints mechanisms should be made to improve responses to elder abuse?

Question 19          What changes to the aged care sanctions regime should be made to improve responses to elder abuse?

Question 20          What changes to the role of aged care advocacy services and the community visitors scheme should be made to improve the identification of and responses to elder abuse?

Question 21          What other changes should be made to aged care laws and legal frameworks to identify, provide safeguards against and respond to elder abuse?

The National Disability Insurance Scheme

Question 22          What evidence exists of elder abuse being experienced by participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme?

Question 23          Are the safeguards and protections provided under the National Disability Insurance Scheme a useful model to protect against elder abuse?

Superannuation

Question 24          What evidence is there of older people being coerced, defrauded, or abused in relation to their superannuation funds, including their self-managed superannuation funds? How might this type of abuse be prevented and redressed?

Financial institutions

Question 25          What evidence is there of elder abuse in banking or financial systems?

Question 26          What changes should be made to the laws and legal frameworks relating to financial institutions to identify, improve safeguards against and respond to elder abuse? For example, should reporting requirements be imposed?

Family agreements

Question 27          What evidence is there that older people face difficulty in protecting their interests when family agreements break down?

Question 28          What changes should be made to laws or legal frameworks to better safeguard the interests of older people when family agreements break down?

Appointed decision-makers

Question 29          What evidence is there of elder abuse committed by people acting as appointed decision-makers under instruments such as powers of attorney? How might this type of abuse be prevented and redressed?

Question 30          Should powers of attorney and other decision-making instruments be required to be registered to improve safeguards against elder abuse? If so, who should host and manage the register?

Question 31          Should the statutory duties of attorneys and other appointed decision-makers be expanded to give them a greater role in protecting older people from abuse by others?

Question 32          What evidence is there of elder abuse by guardians and administrators? How might this type of abuse be prevented and redressed?

Public advocates

Question 33          What role should public advocates play in investigating and responding to elder abuse?

Question 34          Should adult protection legislation be introduced to assist in identifying and responding to elder abuse?

Health services

Question 35          How can the role that health professionals play in identifying and responding to elder abuse be improved?

Question 36          How should professional codes be improved to clarify the role of health professionals in identifying and responding to elder abuse?

Question 37          Are health-justice partnerships a useful model for identifying and responding to elder abuse? What other health service models should be developed to identify and respond to elder abuse?

Question 38          What changes should be made to laws and legal frameworks, such as privacy laws, to enable hospitals to better identify and respond to elder abuse?

Forums for redress

Question 39          Should civil and administrative tribunals have greater jurisdiction to hear and determine matters related to elder abuse?

Question 40          How can the physical design and procedural requirements of courts and tribunals be improved to provide better access to forums to respond to elder abuse?

Question 41          What alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are available to respond to elder abuse? How should they be improved? Is there a need for additional services, and where should they be located?

Criminal law

Question 42          In what ways should criminal laws be improved to respond to elder abuse? For example, should there be offences specifically concerning elder abuse?

Question 43          Do state and territory criminal laws regarding neglect offer an appropriate response to elder abuse? How might this response be improved?

Question 44          Are protection orders being used to protect people from elder abuse? What changes should be made to make them a better safeguard against elder abuse?

Question 45          Who should be required to report suspected elder abuse, in what circumstances, and to whom?

Question 46          How should the police and prosecution responses to reports of elder abuse be improved? What are best practice police and prosecution responses to elder abuse?

Question 47          How should victims’ services and court processes be improved to support victims of elder abuse?

Question 48          How should sentencing laws and practices relating to elder abuse be improved?

Question 49          What role might restorative justice processes play in responding to elder abuse?

Question 50          What role might civil penalties play in responding to elder abuse?