Barbara is an older woman living in Outback Queensland, and since the passing of her husband Tomas, her son Trevor has been living with her. Initially this was to give Barbara support, however, the situation has evolved to Barbara providing him with financial and home duties support, such as paying for and preparing his meals, doing his laundry, lending him occasional money, and he has not contributed to the cost of the home, nor paid any rent.
Barbara believes that Trevor has an undiagnosed mental illness, which reduces his willingness to work, engage in the community, or be helpful in the home. Trevor has refused to accept this nor will he seek medical assistance.
Barbara does not wish to cause further disharmony with Trevor, and is not willing to make him homeless, however she has decided that it would be helpful for her to receive the Carers Allowance from Centrelink.
Our SLASSS team has been assisting Barbara through the various challenges she is facing. We have provided Barbara with education about her rights; about elder abuse – its signs, ways to report and stop it; about her home ownership rights – eviction, etc; enduring powers of attorney and other ways to protect herself in the future; and her rights at Centrelink.
Barbara is now in the process of obtaining the necessary evidence for a Centrelink Application and is considering her options for making an enduring power of attorney. She needs to seriously think about suitable appointees.