The NSW Ageing and Disability Commission is on the ground investigating reports of elder abuse in retirement villages. NSW village operators must have an Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy ready so village staff can be on the lookout for the signs and intervene earlier.

Around 10 to 15% of the reports that come into the ADC through its Helpline are sent onto its Community Supports and Investigations teams – and some of these cases relate to serious allegations of elder abuse in retirement villages.

This article is the final in a special four-part SATURDAY project on elder abuse – you can find the previous three instalments here: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Cecilia Cox, the Acting Director of Operations at the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission (ADC), currently oversees the Community Supports and Investigation teams.

Cecilia tells SATURDAY that in one case, an older woman living in a retirement village was being financially exploited by her carer.

“We met with her and sought her views about the situation, and we were able to establish that her friend, who she considered a friend, was her Enduring Power of Attorney and that person had used that instrument to access her funds,” she said.

“We identified almost $300,000 in funds had been obtained by who the allegation was about, and we could not determine that that had been used for the resident’s benefit.”

ADC focuses on hearing from older people and providing tailored supports

These cases are not an uncommon occurrence for the ADC, which is an independent NSW Government agency supporting older people and adults with disability who are risk of, or are experiencing abuse, neglect and exploitation in their family, home and community.

Most of its cases are managed without a formal investigative process – instead the ADC focuses on hearing directly from the older person and tailoring a plan about what they would like to do in response to their situation.

These steps could include seeking legal or financial advice, accessing aged care services or counselling, and working with their bank to stop unauthorised access to their accounts.

The ADC also provides education and support to family members and carers who may be the subject of abuse allegations if appropriate.

In the case above, it was determined that the village resident required assistance to manage her finances and the NSW Trustee and Guardian were appointed as her financial managers.

The matter was also reported to the Police as a potential offence and some agreements were also put in place to recover some of the allegedly misused funds.

Village Managers can intervene early if they detect signs of elder abuse

In these types of cases, the Village Manager can play an important role by sharing information with the ADC, says Cecilia.

“Often we make what we call preliminary inquiries to better understand the situation so that we can then do more of a risk assessment and also make sure our communication is tailored to the person’s specific needs,” she explained. “So, if it is necessary, then we will make contact with the Village Manager.”

The Village Manager in this case assisted the ADC in its investigation and in setting up safeguards for the resident once the situation became known.

This example also highlights the importance of village staff to be able to recognise the signs that a resident is at risk of elder abuse, such as being socially isolated by someone.

“I think it really sheds a light on preventative strategies that retirement villages and everyone in the community can play a role in increasing the social connectedness of older people to protect against all forms of abuse, neglect and exploitation, but in particular by somebody who is becoming very isolated and dependent on a single person for their support needs,” said Cecilia.

Reports of domestic violence among older people in community – including retirement villages

Domestic violence among older Australians is a little-discussed issue that is often reported to the ADC.

In another retirement village case, the ADC received a report regarding a woman living with dementia with her husband as her carer.

A witness reported that the woman had been pushed by her husband out of frustration while he was trying to give her verbal directions to move inside which had resulted in a fall.

The ADC assisted the witness to make a report of the alleged domestic violence assault to NSW Police and spoke to the woman and her husband separately about the situation.

The man revealed that he had received his own significant health diagnosis recently and was experiencing very high levels of carer stress.

In this case, the police conducted their own enquiries while the ADC supported the woman to access more services in line with her wishes as well as helping her husband to access carer support services for himself.

But again, there were missed opportunities for the Village Manager and community care providers to identify carer stress and provide supports before the situation escalated.

“The village manager was not aware of the alleged domestic violence,” stressed Cecilia.

“But certainly, I think that they have some visibility in terms of recognising when stressors are piling up on residents and when people might need additional support or aren’t coping.”

NSW village operators required to have an Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy

Under Rule 10 of the Rules of Conduct, NSW retirement village operators are required to have an Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy in place to identify and respond to elder abuse in their villages.

This includes information on ways to respond to elder abuse or concerns of suspected abuse, including reporting procedures, escalating matters to appropriate agencies and authorities and response times.

Staff must also be familiar with the Strategy – but not all villages are compliant with these requirements.

This poses a risk, not only for residents and staff, but for the operator.

We reported in January this year that NSW Fair Trading has conducted 174 inspections of retirement villages since the Rules of Conduct for village operators took effect on 1 July 2019 – an average of three per month.

Most of these inspections were unannounced, with villages chosen based on intelligence gathering and consumer feedback.

The message?

Retirement village operators need to ensure that their staff are prepared to address elder abuse in their villages – or risk the regulator turning up on their doorstep.

The ADC has developed a 24-page guide for village operators to meet Rule 10 which can be downloaded from its website here.

The NSW Ageing and Disability Abuse Helpline can be contacted on 1800 628 221 (Mon-Fri, 9-4pm) for information, support or to make a report. Anyone can call, and it can be anonymous.