MEDIA RELEASE: Fight elder abuse: National Elder Abuse conference

Politicians, aged care providers, industry stakeholders and advocacy groups are congregating in Sydney today and tomorrow for the 5th National Elder Abuse Conference – Together Making Change.

The last 18 months has seen elder abuse in Australia increasingly gain mainstream attention, with the Australian Law Reform Commission handing down its report on elder abuse and a number of high profile stories of neglect and abuse within particular aged care services driving a range of government and parliamentary inquiries.

The conference hosted by the Seniors Rights Service, hears from Minister for Aged Care, Hon Ken Wyatt AM MP, Hon Tanya Davies MP NSW Minister for Ageing, Virginia Trioli from ABC News, Hon Anna Bligh from the Australian Bankers Association and Hon Mark Dreyfus MP, Shadow Minister.

COTA Australia, the leading consumer advocacy group for older Australians, congratulates the Seniors Rights Service, and the Elder Abuse Alliance Australia, for the quality of the conference program and the success in hosting the largest conference on elder abuse ever held in Australia.

“This conference underlines the need for Federal Government action on elder abuse in the Federal Budget in May,” said Ian Yates, Chief Executive of COTA Australia.

“We need the Commonwealth to take the lead in getting all States and Territories on board with a National Action Plan and a common approach to preventing and addressing elder abuse, as recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission in its landmark report Elder Abuse, A National Legal Response, in June last year.”

COTA Australia CE Ian Yates is available for comment on action to tackle elder abuse being highlighted by this important conference.

Ian serves on a wide variety of federal government and aged care sector national bodies. Among these he is a member of the Federal Government’s the Aged Care Sector Committee; Aged Care Financing Authority; and Aged Care Quality Advisory Council. Ian is also a Board member of the Aged Rights Advocacy Service, which has for many years managed an elder abuse prevention program in SA.

Media contact: Ian Yates 0418 835 439, Bronte Kerr 0411 676 269

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