Executive summary
COTA Victoria and SRV broadly support the direction of the second National Plan to End the Abuse and Mistreatment of Older People 2024–2034. The draft plan offers a solid foundation through its principles, focus areas and actions. However, we believe there are several areas where improvements can be made to enhance its clarity, accountability, and overall impact.
First, we suggest building on the successes of the first National Plan, while also acknowledging and addressing the gaps. A clearer roadmap that highlights what’s been achieved, what’s still in progress, and where additional work may be needed could help maintain momentum and create a smoother connection between the first and second plans. This would foster confidence and help stakeholders better understand how previous efforts are being continued.
We also suggest exploring an updated governance model that reflects the range of state departments involved in addressing elder abuse and mistreatment. This approach could help improve coordination across jurisdictions, supporting more effective and cohesive implementation. Alongside this, ensuring sustained funding for elder abuse support services, including essential resources like the 1800 ELDER HELP legal service provided by SRV, will be important to meet the growing demand for these services and maintain their long-term impact.
Additionally, we believe that ‘combating ageism’ could be more deeply integrated into the plan, beyond being a guiding principle. Addressing ageism as a dedicated focus area would help directly tackle one of the root causes of elder abuse.
We also suggest that the plan could benefit from a clearer approach to addressing the variations in legal frameworks across jurisdictions. A standardised adult safeguarding framework, with well-defined protocols and accountability measures, could help address some of the legislative gaps that currently exist.
Finally, we see an opportunity to strengthen collaboration by encouraging the formation of forums or task forces that bring together government departments, community organisations, service providers, and research institutions affected by elder abuse. These groups could voice lived experience, and share best practices and data, thereby providing a mechanism to address local challenges in the context of the national strategy.
By considering these suggestions, we believe the second National Plan could be better positioned to provide a coordinated, well-resourced, and effective response to elder abuse, ultimately creating safer and more inclusive communities for older Australians.