Legal Issues

Elizabeth Mabin investigates Australia’s current legal system and the recommendations made last year in a report questioning the adequacy of our laws for older people.

Some say age is a state of mind, other’s say in Australia that it’s a state of vulnerability.

Australia is one of the few countries in the western world without a specific body of law in place to protect the elderly. The overseas jurisdictions of America, Britain and Canada have all introduced a legal specialty known as ‘elder law’. In the United States, elder law is a major part of legal practice with most states having their own unique legislation aimed at protecting the interests of older people.

To the uninformed…