The World Health Organisation refers to elder abuse as 'a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person'.
In 2016, Legal Aid ACT made a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission on the topic of Elder Abuse. This submission paper was titled 'Protecting the Rights of Older Australians From Abuse'.
This year Legal Aid ACT received funding to launch a specialist legal service for older persons. If you are an older person seeking legal advice, please contact our Older Persons ACT Legal Service (OPALS).
Legal Aid ACT has also developed a number of factsheets on the issue of elder abuse. These can be downloaded from the Information and Education page.