Queensland’s ‘disjointed’ system failing to stop shocking elder abuse rates

Queensland seniors face shocking abuse rates with nearly 15 per cent suffering physical, mental and financial harm from family members in a failing protection system.

Ageing Queenslanders are increasingly susceptible to elder abuse, a new report has found

Queensland’s seniors are being physically, mentally, and financially abused by their family at shockingly high rates, often missed by a “disjointed, uninformed and reactionary” system, according to a new report.

The Inquiry into elder abuse in Queensland, chaired by Keppel MP Nigel Hutton, revealed just under 15 per cent of Australians living in the community aged 65 and older were subject to abuse — more than one in six — with rates worse for regional, rural and remote Queenslanders.

In aged care settings the rate of abuse balloons to 39.2 per cent, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety recently estimated.

Those figures likely hide the true scale of abuse, most of which would not be reported, the inquiry warns.

The Elder Abuse Prevention Unit helpline in Queensland received just under 4500 calls in 2023/24.

Perpetrators were most commonly aged between 50 and 54, and 52.1 per cent were female, according to EAPU.

The inquiry found there was no national, standard definition of elder abuse — or even an agreed upon age — complicating how data is collected.
And while frontline workers want to protect elderly Queenslanders, they “operate in a system that is disjointed, uninformed and reactionary”, the report notes, recommending changes to how the government collects data, including with interstate agencies.

Bill Mitchell OAM, principal solicitor at Townsville Community Law said people feared getting older, but don’t deal with protection issues before they are vulnerable.

“By the time they get there and they are one of the 15 per cent who experience abuse, it is too late,” Mr Mitchell said.

Submissions to the report warn of ‘inheritance impatience’ in children and a lack of uniform procedures across banks to recognise and report elder abuse.

“We predict that demand for financial elder abuse response services will increase over the next decade given the largest generational wealth transfer in Australia’s history has already begun as trillions of dollars moves to the rising generation of family members,” Caxton Community Legal Centre submitted.

Enduring power of attorney laws are increasingly being used to abuse rather than protect vulnerable older Queenslanders, with slight differences in legislation across states and a lack of a national register complicating reform efforts, the report noted.
The inquiry also recommended better digital literacy programs for seniors and improved access to support for Queenslanders living outside of the south east corner.
Minister for Families, Seniors and Disability Services Amanda Camm said elder abuse was a “silent epidemic”.

“We welcome the findings of the Committee and will carefully examine their recommendations and provide a response in the New Year,” Ms Camm said.
Queensland Labor said it had “reservations” on the inquiry which it said was “grandstanding” rather than helping Queenslanders.
“It has been 12 months since the inquiry was announced … and since then, in the view of the Queensland Labor Opposition we have seen no meaningful change that seeks to support the very people that have braved this committee to share their stories.”

Originally published as Queensland’s ‘disjointed’ system failing to stop shocking elder abuse rates