Advertisement
Goodbye job applications, hello dream career
Seize control of your career and design the future you deserve with LW career
GET STARTED

Proposed law reform to protect older Australians welcomed by LCA

The decision by Commonwealth, state and territory attorneys-general to provide a more consistent approach to governing enduring power of attorney to better protect older and vulnerable Australians has been welcomed by the national legal body.

user iconNaomi Neilson • 19 November 2021 • Big Law
Dr Jacoba Brasch QC
expand image

With as many as 185,000 older Australians each year experiencing some form of abuse or neglect, mostly financial, the Law Council of Australia (LCA) has welcomed the attorneys-general decision to prioritise reforming enduring power of attorney (EPOA) and to consider alternative models for the National Register of EPOAs.

You’re out of free articles for this month
LCA president Dr Jacoba Brasch said, “we need to do more to protect” our ageing population. Although intended to ensure a person’s interests are protected when they lose the capacity to make decisions for themselves, the lack of legal safeguards around EPOA arrangements has left older Australians vulnerable to financial abuse.

“The Law Council and others, including the age discrimination commissioner, have been calling for these reforms for five years, so we are pleased the nation’s attorneys-general have recognised the urgent need for a more consistent approach to governing EPOAs,” Dr Brasch commented in a recent statement.

Earlier this year, the LCA convened a national roundtable to discuss the law reforms with particular respect to financial matters. Participants agreed that law reform in this area is urgently required to tackle the national problem of elder abuse.

Following this roundtable discussion and further consultation with constituent bodies, the LCA wrote to the Commonwealth Attorney-General to propose certain model provisions as a starting point for national reform in this area.

The provisions are directed towards mitigating financial abuse of older Australians arising from EPOAs by ensuring that a person making an enduring document makes an informed decision about its content and the identity of the decision-maker, and that decision-maker understands their obligations and duty.

“The Law Council, in close consultation with its national elder law and succession law committee and constituent bodies, looks forward to assisting work undertaken by the Meeting of Attorneys-General towards achieving a more nationally consistent approach,” the LCA said.   

Naomi Neilson

Naomi Neilson

Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly. 

You can email Naomi at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tags
You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member for free today!