Framing law reform to address elder abuse

In the inquiry that led to the final report, Elder Abuse-A National Legal Response, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) had to balance two key ideas: the principle of autonomy - promoting and supporting older people's ability to participate equally in their community and access services and advice - and the challenge of ensuring that laws and legal frameworks provide appropriate protections and safeguards for older Australians against misuse or advantage taken of informal and formal supporter or representative roles. This article provides insights into the challenges of framing law reform responses within this conceptual setting, and locating those solutions within a federal system where relevant laws sit either within the federal or state and territory domains. The article also provides a summary of the conclusions reached as reflections of the conceptual framework set for the inquiry.