Elder abuse

By Commission President and Acting Age Discrimination Commissioner, Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM
Every year on the International Day of Older Persons (IDOP), the world comes together to celebrate and reflect on the contributions of older people in our communities.
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Thank you Andrew Tillett (National Press Club Vice President) for your kind introduction. I am sometimes introduced incorrectly, but maybe more accurately, as the Ageing Discrimination Commissioner.
HRC Report No. 8 arose from complaints by three prospective entrants and one serving member of the ADF. The complaints related to various positions for which the upper age limit was 35. In each case the age distinctions complained of were found to be discriminatory and not within the "inherent requirements of the position". The Commissioner recommended that the ADF apologise to one complainant, compensate three of them and remove the discriminatory age requirements.
Commission President Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM has joined with colleagues to farewell and celebrate the achievements of Age Discrimination Commissioner the Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Dr Ben Gauntlett.
A new education campaign is urging older Australians from a range of culturally diverse backgrounds to safeguard themselves against elder abuse by organising their wills, enduring powers of attorney and other important legal documents.
Launching on this year’s World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the Have You Thought About Later Life? campaign has been produced by the Australian Human Rights Commission and forms part of the Commission’s suite of educational resources for preventing elder abuse.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has produced a range of educational resources to raise awareness about the importance of planning ahead for later life.
The focus of our Have You Thought About Later Life? campaign is to provide resources in English and five community languages to support Australians to have these conversations.
Future planning empowers older people to have choice and control over their senior years and provides peace of mind for them and their loved ones.
Hon. Dr Kay Patterson AO
Age Discrimination Commissioner
MACG Grand Cedar, Ashwood VIC, 3 May 2023
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Welcome everyone - I wish to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong people as the traditional owners of the lands from which I speak and pay respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging.
Australia’s Age Discrimination Commissioner says thousands of older Australians are being robbed and cheated out of millions of dollars every year because of a dysfunctional enduring power-of-attorney (EPOA) framework. The Commissioner is calling on state and territory Attorneys-General to commit to fixing the problem at the Standing Council of Attorneys-General meeting in Darwin this week.