The Law Handbook 2024

Chapter 9.2: Legal issues affecting older people 883 Mistreatment Mistreatment involves the denial of a person’s right to live safely and independently. Examples of mistreatment are: • denying a person privacy or intimacy; • withholding information; • denying a person access to other relatives and friends by stopping visitors or interfering in phone calls; • intercepting a person’s mail; • restricting a person’s freedom by not letting them leave the house. What should people experiencing elder abuse do? Depending on the type of abuse and an individual’s situation, older people may be able to address the abuse through intervention orders, family dispute resolution and mediation, legal assistance to recover funds and property, and/or changing living or care arrangements. Call the police If you are in immediate danger, you should always call the police on 000. Elder abuse is a form of family violence and recent family violence reforms in Victoria mean that the police are better equipped to understand and deal with situations of elder abuse than they once were. Where the danger is not immediate, or the need is not urgent, you can call the police on 13 14 44. Or you can visit the elder abuse section of the Victoria Police website (www.police.vic.gov.au/elder-abuse) . Contact Seniors Rights Victoria If you or someone you know is experiencing (or is at risk of experiencing) elder abuse, contact Seniors Rights Victoria ( SRV ) for advice and assistance. SRV is a specialist community legal centre focused on elder abuse. It provides information and referral, legal advice, legal casework and individual advocacy services on elder abuse. Contact the helpline (Monday to Friday, 10 am to 5 pm) on 1300 368 821. There are also many resources on SRV’s website (www. seniorsrights.org.au) . SRV can help any Victorian aged 60 and above, or any Indigenous Victorian aged 45 and above, on matters relating to elder abuse. This includes: • intervention orders (elder abuse is a form of family violence and intervention orders are often an available option); • arrangements involving the exchange of assets in return for the promise of care, including ‘family care’, ‘assets care’ and granny flat arrangements; • situations involving adult children who return home to live, or who have never left home; • behaviour that is overly restrictive of a person’s ability to make their own lifestyle decisions, including inappropriate exercises of power under a power of attorney for personal matters; • financial abuse including: – debts and loans, – misuse of financial powers of attorney, – transfer of property, – co-ownership disputes; • advice regarding disputes about contact with grandchildren; • guardianship and administration; • future planning to protect against elder abuse, including powers of attorney and wills. Note that SRV does not draft wills and powers of attorney unless a case is open and a new will or power of attorney is needed to prevent further abuse occurring. Situations with the potential for financial abuse Elder abuse can arise out of a number of different situations, and many of these are linked to changes a person makes in their life as they get older. These may include changes to their own lives (e.g. living arrangements or increased care needs) or changes made to assist or accommodate other family members (e.g. using property as security for an adult child’s loan, gifting or loaning money, and making decisions about wills and inheritance). Elder abuse can also arise in situations where an older person accepts financial advice from a person with whom they have a relationship of trust (e.g. an adult child or a friend), and the advice is either incorrect or incomplete, or is ultimately to the benefit of the other person, rather than the older person. Common scenarios include a family member advising an older person to transfer their savings into the family member’s account to avoid a reduction in the aged pension, or to transfer their property out of their own name to avoid a nursing home bond payment.