This submission reflects emerging pressures across Victoria’s elder abuse and family violence systems.
It calls for strategic investment through the 2026–27 Victorian State Budget to strengthen prevention, early intervention, response, and recovery.
Elder abuse is defined by the World Health Organisation as, “any act or failure to act within a relationship of trust that causes harm or distress to an older person.”
Elder abuse occurs in all kinds of relationships; between family generations, with intimate partners, and in non-family relationships, such as those involving carers, professionals, and neighbours.
In Australia, it is most commonly perpetrated by adult children or others in family-like relationships.
Due to a range of personal, cultural, and systemic factors, elder abuse often goes undetected.
Limited awareness and the subtle nature of psychological or financial abuse make signs easy to miss, while cultural stigma, ageist attitudes, and language barriers further obscure recognition.
Older people themselves may remain silent out of fear, shame, dependence on the abuser, or a wish to preserve family relationships.
These barriers, combined with systemic ageism, allow abuse to remain hidden, unreported, and unaddressed.
Nonetheless, a 2021 national study found that 14.8% of Australians aged 65+, around 160,000 older Victorians, experience elder abuse annually, a rate higher than in comparable countries including Canada (10%), the US (9.5%), and the UK (14%).
This figure is likely to be higher, due to underreporting associated with the aforementioned barriers.
Without decisive action, this form of family violence will escalate as Victoria’s population ages.
About VEASA
The Victorian Elder Abuse Strategic Alliance is a coalition of leading organisations at the forefront of preventing and responding to elder abuse in Victoria. Its membership includes peak bodies, research institutions, legal professionals, and frontline services. VEASA is coordinated and led by the Council on the Ageing (COTA) Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria (SRV).
Our mission is to lead policy and systemic reform so that older Victorians live free from abuse, supported by inclusive, coordinated, and well-resourced services.
About this submission
VEASA’s membership includes statutory bodies and other entities that cannot formally endorse government submissions; however, their input and guidance have been instrumental in shaping this submission.