Abuse, neglect and exploitation of adults with disability and older people is on the rise

Today in Parliament, Abigail gave notice of a motion calling on the NSW Government to properly fund and address the needs of the overburdened Ageing and Disability Commission.

Abigail said:

I give notice that on the next sitting day I will move:

(1) That this House notes with concern that:

according to the Ageing and Disability Commission (ADC) in its 2023-24 Annual Report published on 31 October 2024, since the ADC was established in 2019 calls to the NSW Ageing and Disability Abuse Helpline have increased by 66% and reports of alleged abuse, neglect and exploitation under section 13 of the Ageing and Disability Commissioner Act 2019 have increased by 109%,
Acting Ageing and Disability Commissioner Kathryn McKenzie makes the following assertions in the 2023-24 Annual Report:
- “the increasing demand is positive – it reflects greater awareness of abuse, neglect and exploitation of adults with disability and older people and the role of the ADC – but also presents significant challenges”,
- “the baseline funding for the ADC… is inadequate to fulfil our statutory functions, including the operation of the Official Community Visitor scheme, and we have increasingly relied on additional temporary funds from the Department of Communities and Justice each year to fill the budget shortfall”, and
- “we sought from Government a modest increase to our funding to re-baseline the budget to help meet our statutory functions and provide capacity to better meet demand. Those requests were not successful.”
former Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald AM has repeatedly and consistently asserted in a range of forums including in numerous Budget Estimates hearings that the former Coalition Government provided the ADC with such an inadequate and unsustainable budget that it was essentially set up to fail, and
as the Acting Commissioner noted, the Labor Government has shamefully refused to rectify the former government’s failure and accept the ADC’s budget bid in the 2024-25 Budget for funding of $14 million over four years. This funding would have addressed the baseline budgets of the ADC’s core work, supported the Official Community Visitors (OCV) scheme, and made it possible for some growth.

(2) That this House commends the work of the Ageing and Disability Commission, including inaugural Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald AM, Acting Commissioner Kathryn McKenzie, and each of the Commission’s hard-working and dedicated staff.

(3) That this House calls on the NSW Government to commit to adopting a demand-based funding model in the 2025-26 NSW Budget, in line with repeated calls from the Commission.

14 November 2024

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

No matter who you are or what you do, everyone has the right to share in the wellbeing of our country.

But at the moment the essentials so many of us need – a place to call home, food on the table, and everyday essentials like electricity, internet, medicine and water – are simply out of reach.

Instead of supporting us, our government is choosing to prop up huge corporations with massive subsidies, and to give away our collective wealth through record tax cuts for the wealthy. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left to live paycheck to paycheck or trapped in the dehumanising bureaucracy of our existing welfare system.

Now, in the midst of a pandemic, and following quickly on the heels of the bushfire crisis, more of us than ever before are experiencing what it’s like to lose our jobs, be without a home, or worry about where the food for our next meal will come from.

It’s time for us to choose to prioritise the wellbeing of everyone.

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It’s the amount you’re owed simply for being a participant in our society.

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The Universal Wellbeing Payment is for everyone. Help us make it happen.

For more information, head to universalwellbeingpayment.com.au

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Abuse, neglect and exploitation of adults with disability and older people is on the rise

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

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