National Elder Abuse Prevalence Study

The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) has been commissioned by the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department to conduct a study of the nature of elder abuse and the extent to which it occurs among those in the Australian population aged 65 and over.

The National Elder Abuse Prevalence Study will assess builds on existing research conducted by AIFS and its partners in Elder Abuse National Research: Strengthening the Evidence Base – Stage One.

The study involves:

a survey of 7,000 people aged 65 and over who live in the community (i.e. those who are not in residential aged care settings). The survey will examine experiences of elder abuse among this population
a survey of 3,500 people aged 18–64 years which will focus on knowledge of elder abuse, attitudes to older people and the extent to which participants in the survey provide assistance to older people.

Data will also be drawn from each survey to better understand the experiences of older Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) people in Australia. This aspect of the research will provide insight into the prevalence and characteristics of abuse of older CALD people, as well as the contexts in which the abuse occurs and how their experiences of abuse may differ from the general population.

More information

View the Elder Abuse Prevention and Support Service contacts by state or territory for those who are at risk or are experiencing Elder Abuse.

Contact

The Elder Abuse National Research Project team
Email: eanr@aifs.gov.au

Assisted contact

If you have a hearing or speech impairment, contact us through the National Relay Service:

TTY users phone 133 677 then ask for (03) 9214 7888
Speak and Listen users phone 1300 555 727 then ask for (03) 9214 7888

If you do not speak English, or English is your second language, and you need assistance to communicate with us, call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 then ask for 9214 7888.

Post

The Elder Abuse National Research Project team
Australian Institute of Family Studies
Level 4, 40 City Road
Southbank VIC 3006
Australia

Privacy

View AIFS’ Privacy Policy.

If you wish to make a privacy enquiry or a complaint, please contact us via the details below.

Alternatively, if an individual is a participant in an AIFS research project, they may wish to lodge a complaint with the AIFS Ethics Committee secretariat.

Irrespective of which complaints process an individual chooses to use (standard or Ethics Committee), their right to complain to the OAIC is not affected.

Individuals can obtain further information in relation to this Privacy Policy, or provide any comments, by contacting us online, by telephone or in writing.

Telephone: (03) 9214 7888 (or from outside Australia +61 3 9214 7888)
Email: aifs-privacy@aifs.gov.au

Publications

Kaspiew, R., Carson, R., & Rhoades, H. (2015). Elder abuse: Understanding issues, frameworks and responses (Research Report No. 35). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Kaspiew, R., Carson, R., Dow, B., Qu, L., Hand, K., Roopani, D., Gahan, L., & O'Keeffe, D. (2019). Elder Abuse National Research - Strengthening the Evidence Base: Research definition background paper. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.