The Law Handbook 2024

880 NOTE The law in this chapter is current as at 1 September 2023. Introduction For the purposes of this chapter, the terms ‘older people’ and ‘seniors’ refer to people over the age of 60 years old. This chapter covers the following topics: • elder abuse including situations with the potential for financial abuse: – transferring property or assets in exchange for care, – loans and gifts, – the use of funds without authority or in excess of authority, – the misuse of powers of attorney, – fraud or pressure to sign documents, – sharing a home with an adult child; • age discrimination; • grandparents’ access to grandchildren. Currently in Victoria, 1.45 million people are aged over 60, which is more than 22 per cent of the population (ABS, Census , 2021). By 2031, our older population is due to comprise 22 per cent of the population in Melbourne and 31 per cent in regional and rural Victoria. Across Australia, the number of people aged 65 and over is expected to more than double from 3.8 million to 8.8 million in the next 25 years. The increasingly older age profile of the Australian population makes it particularly important to address elder abuse effectively. Older people are highly diverse: 41 per cent of Victorians aged over 65 – and 46 per cent of those aged over 85 – were born overseas (ABS 2017). While ageing provides people with opportunities and options, Victoria’s diverse older population can also be affected by numerous legal issues, some of which are unique to them. This chapter provides information on legal issues that are either unique to this population group or tend to disproportionally impact older people. Many of the other topics in this book are also relevant to older people. While the following topics are most common among older people, they are not covered in this chapter: • residential aged care; • home care packages and support; • retirement villages. Elder abuse What is elder abuse? Elder abuse is any act that causes harm to an older person and is carried out by someone they know and trust, such as a family member or friend. Elder abuse can happen in many contexts, including in the home and in residential aged care. Elder abuse is one of the worst manifestations of ageism and inequality in our society and most commonly occurs within the family. Elder abuse violates an older person’s basic right to feel safe. It is a controlling behaviour or action that frightens, coerces or intimidates and it can be illegal. Elder abuse commonly falls within the definition of family violence; it can occur any time; and it can range from being subtle to extreme. How common is elder abuse? Elder abuse is believed to be greatly under-reported (see ‘Under-reporting’, below). The World Health Organization quotes a 2017 study that estimated that each year, 15.7 per cent of people aged 60 years and older (i.e. one in six) were subjected to some form of abuse. The Australian Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety estimated that the prevalence 9.2 Legal issues affecting older people Contributors: Avital Kamil, Principal Lawyer; Julia Jeffries, Managing Lawyer; Andelka Obradovic, Senior Lawyer and Luke Shein, Community Lawyer; Seniors Rights Victoria