Terms of Reference
Protecting the Rights of Older Australians from AbuseI, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, Attorney-General of Australia, having regard to:the principle that all Australians have rights, which do not diminish with age, to live dignified, self‑determined lives, free from exploitation, violence and abusethe principle that laws and legal frameworks should provide appropriate protections and safeguards …
Publications
Read moreDuty to make inquiries
Recommendation 14–2 Adult safeguarding agencies should have a statutory duty to make inquiries where they have reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is an ‘at-risk adult’. The first step of an inquiry should be to contact the at-risk adult. 14.51 Adult safeguarding agencies should have a clear duty to inquire, when they have reasonable …
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Read moreActions
Recommendation 14–5 Adult safeguarding laws should provide that, where a safeguarding agency has reasonable grounds to conclude that a person is an at-risk adult, the agency may take the following actions, with the adult’s consent: (a) coordinate legal, medical and other services for the adult; (b) meet with relevant government agencies and other …
Publications
Read moreDeath benefit nominations
The legal framework7.17 The payment of the superannuation funds of a member on the member’s death is a matter that is determined by the governing rules of the superannuation fund. As a matter of trust law, a trustee is not able to delegate the exercise of their powers under the trust, except to the extent …
Publications
Read moreResponses to serious incidents of abuse and neglect
Recommendation 4–1 Aged care legislation should provide for a new serious incident response scheme for aged care. The scheme should require approved providers to notify to an independent oversight body:(a) an allegation or a suspicion on reasonable grounds of a serious incident; and(b) the outcome of an investigation into a serious incident, including findings and …
Publications
Read moreGoals
Recommendation 3–3 The National Plan to combat elder abuse should identify goals, including: (a) promoting the autonomy and agency of older people; (b) addressing ageism and promoting community understanding of elder abuse; (c) achieving national consistency; (d) safeguarding at-risk adults and improving responses; and (e) building the evidence base. Recommendation 3–4 The National Plan should …
Publications
Read moreFraming legal responses to elder abuse
Elder abuse in the federal context2.74 Issues surrounding elder abuse relate to areas of Commonwealth, state and territory and possibly local government responsibility. For example, the Commonwealth makes laws relating to financial institutions, social security, superannuation and aged care. Laws relating to substitute decision making, including guardianship and powers of attorney, and most criminal laws, …
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Read moreOverview of Report
1.20 As stakeholders observed, elder abuse is ‘complex and multidimensional’ and requires a ‘multi-faceted response’. In this Report, the ALRC contributes to that response with a set of recommendations—traversing laws and legal frameworks across Commonwealth, state and territory laws—aimed at achieving a nationally consistent response to elder abuse. The ALRC has looked to the horizon …
Publications
Read moreTerms of Reference
Protecting the Rights of Older Australians from AbuseI, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, Attorney-General of Australia, having regard to:the principle that all Australians have rights, which do not diminish with age, to live dignified, self‑determined lives, free from exploitation, violence and abusethe principle that laws and legal frameworks should provide appropriate protections and safeguards …
Publications
Read moreSupporting Older People in Exercising and Protecting Their Rights—Insights from the ALRC’s Disability and Elder Abuse Inquiries
Keynote Address, ADA National Conference, ‘Human Rights & Social Justice: Shifting Client Control’, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, 23 March 2017, Emeritus Professor Rosalind F Croucher AM, President, Australian Law Reform Commission*Abstract: The ALRC’s Disability inquiry embodied the paradigm shift of the UNCRPD to supported decision making and, as a first principle, that all adults have an …
News/Media Release
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