The Fight Against Elder Abuse is Already Overdue
Elder abuse continues to be a real and present danger in WA affecting at least 1 in 20 older Western Australians. Sadly, support and referral agencies report that these numbers are conservative.
Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney and Powers of Guardianship are tools that can often be misused to perpetrate abuse and exploitation against older people.
Following a Statutory Review of the Guardianship and Administration Act in 2015, WA Labor made an election commitment to “expedite the enactment of amendments to the law surrounding enduring powers of attorney and guardianship”.
In early 2017 the Attorney General promised to “expedite” reforms to the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990.
However, this issue was only revisited when the Liberal Opposition moved a motion in September 2017, leading to the establishment of a Select Committee into Elder Abuse.
Then when we followed up on the Attorney General’s promise to “expedite” these reforms, he told us in April 2018 that he’d do it by Spring 2018. When we followed up again in November 2018 we were told it will happen “in the first half of 2019”.
More than seven years have passed, and still, nothing. Given the prevalence of elder abuse, the Attorney General’s inaction has been nothing short of irresponsible.
By failing to deliver on its promise of elder abuse law reform, WA Labor has betrayed the trust of victims, the electorate and the Parliament.
Considering Labor’s total dominance over both Houses of Parliament during the 41st Parliament, this failure is particularly shameful.
I asked this Question in Parliament on 3 June 2021, and the amendments referred to in the answer had nothing to do with elder abuse and even included a provision that did the exact opposite of what was recommended in the statutory review!
On 27 February, 2024 I gave notice of this motion in the Legislative Council of the West Australian Parliament:
That this House —
a) reminds the McGowan Labor Government that its January 2017 election manifesto on responding to elder abuse promised that it would “expedite” amendments to the law surrounding enduring powers of attorney and guardianship;
b) notes that on 13 September 2017 the Legislative Council established, on the motion of the Opposition, the Select Committee into Elder Abuse;
c) reminds the Government that the Select Committee’s 24th recommendation in its 2018 Final Report called on it to “act as a matter of urgency”;
d) notes that more than 7 years have passed since the election promise was made;
e) expresses its deep concern about the impact on victims of elder abuse given its prevalence in our state; and
f) calls on the Government to apologise for breaking trust with the victims, the electors and the Parliament, and to make amends without any further delay.
Despite my repeated attempts to push Labor into action, the only ‘progress’ in this space came in April 2024, when the retiring Labor Attorney General requested a review of our guardianship and administration laws by the WA Law Reform Commission.
Enough is enough. It is time to stop kicking the can down the road and take real action on elder abuse law reform.
If elected on 8 March, a Mettam Liberal Government will prioritise the implementation of the recommendations contained in the 2015 statutory review as a matter of urgency.
This includes reform of enduring powers of attorney and guardianship to prevent misuse, improve transparency, and ensure proper safeguards are in place to protect vulnerable individuals.
For more information:
Read my 2021 media release on this important issue here.
Access the media release from Libby Mettam and me here