Australian Human Rights Commission Welcomes 10-Year National Plan to Combat Elder Abuse

Canberra - The Australian Human Rights Commission has hailed the launch of a new 10-year federal strategy as a transformative shift in the protection of older citizens, positioning the elimination of elder abuse as a primary human rights priority for the decade ahead.

The National Plan to End the Abuse and Mistreatment of Older People 2026–2036, released Monday, March 16, introduces a rights-based framework designed to address the systemic drivers of exploitation, with a specific focus on the intersection of ageism and financial harm.

Age Discrimination Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald AM described the plan as a decisive step toward correcting a growing national crisis that currently affects an estimated one in six older Australians.

"Elder abuse is prevalent and a growing national problem. It is one of the clearest and most harmful expressions of ageism, with significant social, legal, and economic implications," Commissioner Fitzgerald said.

Commission officials warned that sustained cost-of-living pressures are increasing the risk of financial exploitation within families, which remains the most common form of mistreatment.

Unlike previous iterations, the 2026–2036 plan explicitly recognizes ageism as a primary driver of abuse and mandates targeted initiatives to dismantle discriminatory social attitudes.

"A human rights-based approach for ending abuse and mistreatment is at the heart of the Plan, placing dignity, autonomy, equality, safety and participation at the core of every principle, policy and action," Fitzgerald said.

The plan also prioritizes culturally informed responses for First Nations communities and recognizes the disproportionate risks faced by older women.

To ensure the commitments translate into enforceable protections, the Commissioner is advocating for the immediate introduction of adult safeguarding laws across all states and territories, alongside the national harmonization of enduring power of attorney (EPOA) laws.

"Every older Australian has the fundamental right to live free from abuse, neglect and exploitation," Fitzgerald said, adding that "the opportunity now is to create systems and responses that genuinely uphold the wellbeing of older people."

The implementation of the strategy will be managed through two consecutive five-year action plans, with the Commissioner calling for urgent amendments to privacy laws to allow for better information sharing between agencies when a senior is at risk of financial harm.

The 2026–2036 National Plan represents the second major federal intervention into elder abuse, succeeding the initial 2019–2023 roadmap.

While the first plan focused on defining the scope of the problem and establishing the National Elder Abuse phone line (1800ELDERHelp), the new decade-long strategy seeks to resolve long-standing legislative inconsistencies that have historically hampered protection efforts.

A central challenge in the Australian context is the fragmented nature of state and territory laws.

Currently, a Power of Attorney document valid in New South Wales may not be easily recognized in Western Australia, creating jurisdictional gaps that opportunistic abusers can exploit.

The new plan aims to close these gaps by pushing for a unified national standard.

The 2026 plan further aligns with a growing global movement for a binding United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.

Advocates argue that existing international treaties do not sufficiently address age-specific vulnerabilities, such as digital exclusion or inheritance impatience.