WEAAD Workshop 2011

On Wednesday 15th June, Seniors Rights Victoria hosted a very successful day-long workshop in Melbourne for workers in health, aged care, family violence and related sectors on elder abuse.

About 110 people attended, to participate in workshops and hear a range of speakers including the Victorian Minister for Health, the Hon David Davis, and Professor Simon Biggs, who gave the keynote address. See the complete program.

Workshop presentations included:

Elder Mistreatment, International Prevalence and Social Ageism (Prof. Simon Biggs, Brotherhood of St Laurence and University of Melbourne)
Victorian Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy (Barbara Mountjouris, Manager, Senior Victorians, Aged Care Branch, Dept of Health)
Family Violence Code of Practice-Police Response and Investigation of Family Violence (Sgt Dianne Ashwell, Family Violence Advisor, Victoria Police)
Accessing and Supporting Older Clients in Abusive Situations (Philippa Campbell & Hazel Ingram, SRV, with Philippa Bailey, DVRCV)
Powers of Attorney (Phil Grano, Principal Legal Officer, Office of the Public Advocate)
Charter of Human Rights (Rachel Ball, Director of Policy and Campaigns, Human Rights Law Resource Centre)
Supporting the Care Relationship to Prevent Elder Abuse (Dr Briony Dow, Director Health Promotion Division, NARI and Anne Muldowney, Policy Advisor, Health & Aged Care, Carers Victoria)

And we received great positive and constructive feedback from participants, which will help us plan for next year. Some comments: 

• I would have liked to attend all 4 sessions.
• Thought the case study work was a great way to debate and discuss--worked very well
• Great day--great venue--great enthusiasm for change
• Very professionally run and presented workshop. Excellent speakers.

WEAAD Legal Seminar--A Collision between Love and the Law

 On 15 June, Seniors Rights Victoria and PILCH hosted a seminar for legal practitioners on family agreements. 'A Collision Between Love and the Law' was presented by Mr Brian Herd from Carne, Reidy and Herd Lawyers, Brisbane. Mr Herd practises in Elder Law and law relating to older people. He has written widely and presented to a broad cross section of audiences in Australia and overseas. He is Chair of the Queensland Law Society's Elder Law Co mmittee and an international member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys of America. ..

Family agreements allow older people and their families to formalise arrangements about the provision of care and accommodation, sometimes in exchange for financial consideration or testamentary bequests. Family agreements are an important tool to protect the interests of both the older person and their families and ensure that everyone's wishes are accommodated. Mr Herd's presentation looked at the history of family arrangements and compared the Australian experience with those overseas. He looked at the legal background and provided practitioners with some practical knowledge and precedents to apply in their own work. The presentation was well-received by all participants..