Page 1696 - Week 06 - Thursday, 3 June 2021
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substantial matters they may be able to be appointed an acting judge, with its associated remuneration and entitlements, while they complete these matters.
A minor amendment to the Coroners Act will repeal a provision which empowers the coroner to issue a warrant to a police officer to take and remove a body to a place for post-mortem examination. This reduces duplication of powers as ACT Policing and the Coroners Court have advised that this provision is not used in practice. It is important to note that this will not change the current practice of coroners and ACT Policing. Rather, this amendment removes an outdated provision as ACT Policing rely on existing powers contained in the Coroners Act and commonwealth powers to assist the coroner to be able to remove a body to a place for post-mortem examination.
Australia’s population is ageing, and our community expects that we, as government, will help to look after our ageing population. It is the responsibility of each government across Australia to ensure that older people who are vulnerable are adequately protected. Our older community deserves to live their lives free from any kind of abuse. The startling reality, however, shows that there is plenty of room for improvement. Unfortunately, there are some people in our community who abuse their relationship of trust to exploit some of our community’s most vulnerable members.
In 2017 the Australian Law Reform Commission made 43 recommendations in its report Elder Abuse—A National Legal Response on how laws and legal frameworks could be reformed to better protect older persons from abuse and improve safeguards to protect their autonomy. I am pleased to say this bill will implement recommendation 5-2 of this report which facilitates enhanced access to justice for vulnerable elderly people who have experienced financial abuse. Importantly, these amendments will deliver better protection for vulnerable older people and are also consistent with the objectives of the national plan to respond to the abuse of older Australians 2019-2023.
The amendments to the Powers of Attorney Act and the Guardianship and Management of Property Act recognise the vulnerability of people who are dependent on substitute decision makers—such as attorneys, guardians or financial managers—to make important decisions on their behalf. These amendments deliver important protections to safeguard the rights of such persons and protect them from financial abuse by making it easier to seek redress and justice from financial abuse.
Specifically, the amendments to the Powers of Attorney Act and the Guardianship and Management Act provide power to the ACAT to order compensation to be paid by substitute decision makers where there is evidence of financial abuse. The tribunal is able to order this on its own initiative or on application by an interested person.
The amendments provide a less complex and less costly option than the current pathway of applying to the Supreme Court for a decision which can be prohibitive from any older person subject to abuse. The amendments also provide the tribunal the discretionary power to refer such matters to the Supreme Court. These powers complement existing jurisdiction of the ACAT to oversee the use of substitute
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