Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995 (DHW 2022-23 Annual Report)

Part 2 - Office for Ageing Well

11 – Annual Report

1. The Director must, on or before 31 October in each year, report to the Minister on the operations of the Office for Ageing Well during the preceding financial year.
2. The Minister must, within 6 sitting days after receiving a report from the Director, have copies of the report laid before both Houses of Parliament.

Part 3 - Adult Safeguarding Unit

17- Annual Report

1. The Director must, on or before 31 October in each year, report to the Minister on the operations of the Adult Safeguarding Unit during the preceding financial year.
2. The Minister must, within 6 sitting days after receiving a report under this section, have copies of the report laid before both Houses of Parliament.
3. A report under this section may be combined with the annual report of the Office for Ageing Well under section 11.

Office for Ageing Well, established under the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995, is situated within the Department for Health and Wellbeing. Under the Act, the Office for Ageing Well’s objectives include:

• supporting South Australians of all ages to age well, unencumbered by stigma and discrimination
• achieving proper integration of older persons within the community thus ensuring that the skills and experience of older people are not lost to the community through social alienation
• creating social structures in which older people can realise their full potential as individuals and as members of the community
• creating a social ethos in which older people are accorded the dignity, appreciation and respect that properly belong to them
• ensuring the multicultural nature of the community is reflected in the planning and implementation of programs and services relevant to older people
• achieving a proper understanding within the community of the problems affecting older people and vulnerable adults and ameliorating those problems so far as it is practicable to do so by modification of social structures and attitudes.
  

To achieve its objectives, Office for Ageing Well led the development of policies and delivered programs, projects and services during 2022-23, in partnership with a diverse range of stakeholders and in line with the priorities of the South Australian Government’s health and wellbeing agenda and shaped directly by the voices of older South Australians.

To achieve the Act’s objectives, Office for Ageing Well is comprised of the following business units and programs:

• Adult Safeguarding Unit
• Ageing Policy Unit
• Aged Care Strategy Unit
• Aged Care Assessment Program
• Seniors Card Program
• Ageing Well Community Grants Program
• Retirement Villages Unit.
  

In 2022-23, the South Australian Law Reform Institute completed its independent review of the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995. The review was conducted pursuant to section 53, which required a review be completed and provided to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing no later than 1 October 2022. The Minister for Health and Wellbeing tabled the report in Parliament on 1 November 2022.

The review made 46 recommendations and comprised a comprehensive examination of the operation of the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995, including the Office for Ageing Well provisions and establishment of the Adult Safeguarding Unit, which commenced operations on 1 October 2019 and was the first of its kind in Australia. The Government accepted the majority of the review recommendations (in full or in part), with a small number of recommendations related to other Acts still under consideration.

A draft amendment bill is now being developed to give effect to recommendations requiring legislative amendment to the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995, which is expected to be introduced to Parliament during 2023-24. Other recommendations are also being implemented through strengthening policy and practice of the Adult Safeguarding Unit.

Adult Safeguarding Unit

The Adult Safeguarding Unit is established under the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995 and commenced operation on 1 October 2019.

In 2022-23, the Adult Safeguarding Unit continued its strong focus on promoting and safeguarding the rights of adults who may be vulnerable and experiencing abuse or mistreatment by working with the adult and any existing supports to implement safeguarding actions, tailored to their needs, wishes and circumstances.

In October 2022, the transitional provisions under the Act expired and the Adult Safeguarding Unit’s legal mandate expanded. Prior to this date, the Adult Safeguarding Unit responded to reports of actual or suspected abuse regarding older people and people with a disability. From October 2022 onwards, the Adult Safeguarding Unit responds to reports of actual or suspected abuse regarding any adult who may be vulnerable by reason of age, disability, ill health, social isolation, dependence on others or other disadvantage.

Key functions of the Adult Safeguarding Unit are to:

• Provide confidential information and advice to people concerned about themselves or someone else who may be vulnerable and experiencing abuse or mistreatment.
• Respond to reports of suspected or actual abuse of adults who may be vulnerable by reason of age, disability, ill health, social isolation, dependence on others or other disadvantage.
• Provide support to safeguard the rights of adults experiencing abuse, tailored to their needs, wishes and circumstances.
• Raise community awareness about the service and strategies to safeguard the rights of adults who may be at risk of abuse.

Responding to reports of abuse or mistreatment

Under the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995, the Adult Safeguarding Unit must assess all reports of abuse received and then take one of a number of prescribed actions. When assessing reports of abuse, the Adult Safeguarding Unit obtains as much information as possible about the situation to determine whether to refer the matter to a more appropriate agency for response; investigate the situation further; or close the matter for no further action. In most situations, the adult’s consent is required before any further action can be taken.

Reporting abuse to the Adult Safeguarding Unit is voluntary. The Adult Safeguarding Unit has a dedicated phone line for the public to seek information, advice and support about adult safeguarding, and to make reports of suspected abuse or mistreatment of adults who may be vulnerable. The Adult Safeguarding Unit can also take reports via email or a recently introduced online report form.

Of the 3,098 contacts received by the Adult Safeguarding Unit in 2022-23:

• Almost half of the contacts, 48.5 per cent (1,501 contacts) resulted in a report to the Adult Safeguarding Unit, and the remaining 51.5 per cent (1,597 contacts) were seeking information and advice.
• Of the 1,501 reports received, 66.2 per cent (994 reports) were closed after assessment or completion of safeguarding, while the remaining 33.8 per cent (507 reports) remained open at the end of the financial year.
• Of the 507 open reports at the end of the 2022-2023, 58.3 per cent (273 reports) were in the assessment phase, 36.9 per cent (187 reports) were awaiting allocation, and 9.3 per cent (47 reports) were under investigation.
• Of the 994 reports closed during the year, 907 were closed after comprehensive assessment and 87 were closed after the Unit undertook an investigation for the purpose of safeguarding the adult.
• Of the 907 reports closed after assessment, 91 per cent (854 reports) were closed for no further action where no additional input from the Adult Safeguarding Unit was required. The remaining 53 reports were closed for other reasons such as the adult not consenting to working with the Adult Safeguarding Unit or passing away.

There were a number of reasons why no further action was taken by the Adult Safeguarding Unit. For example, the situation was assessed as being appropriately managed by other parties already involved in supporting the adult; there was no abuse or mistreatment identified; the Adult Safeguarding Unit provided support or advice to a service provider or other person to increase existing safeguarding supports for the person; a more appropriate statutory response was required; or the adult did not consent to assistance from the Adult Safeguarding Unit.

In many cases, due to the comprehensive work of the Adult Safeguarding Unit during the assessment phase, existing supports were strengthened to safeguard the adult. In such cases, progressing the case to investigation was not necessary. Gathering information during assessment is an interactive process, usually involving detailed discussion with the adult and consideration of their situation. Solutions were identified and safeguarding actions were implemented by either the adult themselves, with support from the Unit, or others involved in their support and care. To mitigate risk and ensure the best outcomes for the adult, the Adult Safeguarding Unit may take a non-linear approach, commonly undertaking safeguarding actions concurrently with the assessment process.

• 60.6 per cent of all contacts (1,876) were related to concerns of abuse of adults over 65; 28.0 per cent (867 contacts) were related to adults living with disability; and 3.1 per cent (95 contacts) concerned adults with other vulnerabilities. Insufficient information was provided for the remaining 8.4 per cent (260 enquiries) to determine category.
• In relation to adults over 65, most enquiries and reports to the Adult Safeguarding Unit came from service providers (41.7 per cent). Family members were the second highest group of people contacting the Adult Safeguarding Unit (20.4 per cent) to make an enquiry or report. The most commonly reported types of abuse among older adults were psychological/emotional (37.7 per cent), financial or exploitation (19.5 per cent), and abuse/exploitation of a position of trust (12.9 per cent). Adult children were most often identified as the person of concern in relation to the abuse (43.2 per cent), followed by other family members (10.9 per cent) and husbands/wives/partners (10.7 per cent).

Of the contacts relating to adults with a disability, most enquiries and reports to the Adult Safeguarding Unit came from service providers (70.9 per cent). Community organisations were the second highest group of people contacting the Unit (10.8 per cent). The most prevalent types of abuse reported were psychological / emotional (24.9 per cent), financial or exploitation (21 per cent) and neglect (16.5 per cent). Fathers, mothers or both parents were most frequently identified as the person of concern in relation to the abuse, accounting for 23 per cent. Service providers were identified as the person of concern in relation to abuse in 11 per cent of cases and, when appropriate, the Unit reported the case to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. In 7.8 per cent of cases, partners were identified as the person of concern.

The Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995 allows for the Adult Safeguarding Unit to make a formal referral to a State authority or other specified person or body. Whilst the Adult Safeguarding Unit made many referrals to a broad range of agencies during and following assessment, these referrals were made using established referral pathways, and no referrals were made using the Act’s prescribed referral provision. Referrals play an important role in safeguarding the adult, as the responsibility of preventing abuse and mistreatment is shared by many. There are a range of organisations offering services, supports and interventions to help stop abuse from occurring and restore people’s right to safety, respect and self-determination.

Where safeguarding was undertaken, the Adult Safeguarding Unit played an important role in supporting the adult, in line with their wishes and circumstances. In 2022-23, examples of safeguarding actions included: moving to safer, alternate accommodation; applying for an Intervention Order or making a report to South Australia Police; completing or changing legal documents such as an Enduring Powers of Attorney or Advance Care Directives; changing banking details; engaging formal support services (including in home supports funded through NDIS or My Aged Care); engaging informal supports; and directly addressing concerns with the person responsible for the abuse, while attempting to ensure the preservation of important relationships. The Adult Safeguarding Unit also provided safeguarding information and advice and coordinated multi-agency responses where a range of services were involved.

Where there were specific circumstances warranting further action, the Adult Safeguarding Unit acted without consent to ensure the adult’s safety. In most cases, this was where the person had impaired decision-making capacity in respect of a decision to consent to an action. Other circumstances in which the Adult Safeguarding Unit acted without consent included: where a person’s life or physical safety was at immediate risk; there was an allegation that a serious criminal offence had been, or was likely to be, committed against the person; or, after reasonable enquiries, the Adult Safeguarding Unit was unable to contact the adult.

Community Education and Awareness

In 2022-23, the Adult Safeguarding Unit delivered 45 education sessions and participated in a variety of community events. These functions and events were attended by diverse stakeholders and community groups, including older people and people with a disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The Adult Safeguarding Unit’s community education focuses on raising awareness of prevention strategies that may assist to safeguard the rights of adults who may be vulnerable, and providing information about the Adult Safeguarding Unit, including how to contact the Adult Safeguarding Unit and the role it can play in safeguarding rights.

The Adult Safeguarding Unit ran its annual public awareness raising campaign in October 2022. The campaign focused on informing the community of its expanded remit and encouraged people to contact the Adult Safeguarding Unit or to visit the website if they were concerned about the suspected or actual abuse of a person who may be vulnerable. The campaign resulted in a marked increase in contacts to the Adult Safeguarding Unit across October and November 2022.

The Adult Safeguarding Unit also engaged with stakeholders at a strategic level to foster new and existing partnerships. These engagements were focussed on developing or improving working arrangements to ensure a coordinated response to safeguarding the rights of adults across the state.

Ageing Policy Unit

South Australia’s Plan for Ageing Well 2020-2025 guides the work of the Ageing Policy Unit through its vision and strategic priorities for ageing well for all South Australians.

In 2022-23, the Ageing Policy Unit directly funded, managed or collaborated on 59 projects, in partnership with a broad range of stakeholders from government, non-government and community sectors, focussed on South Australia’s Plan for Ageing Well 2020-2025’s strategic priorities of Home and community; Meaningful connections; and Navigating change. This included:

• Developing the Strategic Research Agenda for Ageing Well in South Australia (Strategic Research Agenda), in partnership with the Centre for Health in All Policies Research Translation. The Strategic Research Agenda was released on 17 February 2023, following wide consultation and co-design with researchers/knowledge producers, policy makers and practitioners. The Strategic Research Agenda outlines nine research priorities focussed on the social and structural determinants of ageing well, aligned with South Australia’s Plan for Ageing Well 2020-2025.
• Introducing the new Impact Research Grants for Ageing Well in South Australia program. The research grants program encourages researchers from a variety of disciplines to undertake independent research to help address questions of community and policy importance identified in the Strategic Research Agenda. The focus for the 2022-23 grant round was ‘Homes, housing and the built environment’, with $100,000 (GST exclusive) allocated to three research organisations for grants in two streams: two Seed Grants ($25,000 each) for a research project of up to 12 months duration to University of South Australia, and one Major Project Grant ($100,000 over two years) for a research project of up to 24 months duration to Flinders University.
• Continuing its partnership with the Office of the Public Advocate to provide tools and educational workshops for people appointed as Substitute Decision Makers under an Advance Care Directive to understand their role and responsibilities. The Toolkit and video will be finalised and launched, and community workshops rolled out in 2023-2024.
• Continuing its partnership on the Advance Care Directives project with the Cities of Victor Harbor, Alexandrina and Yankalilla and Cities of Charles Sturt, West Torrens and Port Adelaide Enfield, as well as a new partnership with Adelaide Hills and Mt Barker Councils. This work aims to deliver sustainable community peer-led models to increase the completion of Advance Care Directives, with a particular focus on culturally and linguistically diverse and regional communities.
• Developing the new Future Directions to Safeguard the Rights of Older South Australians 2023-2027, informed by statewide consultation with more than 2,400 older people and stakeholders. This sets out the statewide policy direction for prevention, awareness and response of abuse and mistreatment of older people and was launched by the Minister on 26 July 2023.
• Continuing the statewide Elder Abuse Prevention Tackling Ageism public awareness campaign, which ran from 9 June until 31 July via digital and social media, metropolitan and regional radio, press, WeekendPlus – the Seniors Card digital magazine, and Shopper Media. The campaign aimed to raise community awareness that ageism takes away older people’s rights and can lead to abuse or mistreatment. Calls to the Adult Safeguarding Unit increased as a result of the campaign.
• Implementing the Ageing Well Measuring Success Framework through a mid-term review of selected indicators from the Framework. This work was conducted by URPS during 2022-23, to understand change compared with benchmarking data collected in late 2021. This comparison will help to understand improvements or challenges over time in how South Australians are being supported to live well. A final review will be conducted in 2023-24, which will inform the development of the next state ageing plan and policies.

Aged Care Strategy Unit and Aged Care Assessment Program

The Aged Care Strategy Unit administers the Aged Care Assessment Program in South Australia on behalf of the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care. The Aged Care Assessment Program comprehensively assesses the needs of older people to enable access to Commonwealth Government funded aged care services.

The South Australian Aged Care Assessment Program performed well against required timeliness and quality indicators in 2022-23, exceeding the National Key Performance Indicator target for actioning referrals. South Australia continues to maintain timely performance in the completion of assessments across all settings, with the average number of days currently at 37.6 days in 2022-23. The Aged Care Assessment Teams completed over 17,000 assessments for the year.

The Aged Care Strategy Unit also undertook strategic projects related to aged care and supported a range of national programs in 2022-23, including:

• Representing South Australia on the Commonwealth, States and Territories Joint Working Group for the development of the National Dementia Action Plan.
• Providing program management for the Commonwealth’s Specialised Dementia Care Program in South Australia.
• Undertaking community consultation on the use of surveillance and monitoring technology in aged care, to complement the findings from the 12-month SA Health CCTV Pilot Project. The consultation explored a range of surveillance and monitoring technologies, including CCTV and wearable devices, and sought the community’s views on the social, ethical and policy implications of their use in an aged care setting. The findings of the consultation noted that whilst technology has a role to play in aged care, the consent of the person is an important consideration. Participants also expressed the need for legislation and policy development to support and guide ethical use of surveillance and monitoring technology, noting residents and staff have a right to privacy, safety, dignity and high-quality care.
• Supporting the Commonwealth’s aged care reform agenda, including reviewing the delivering of assessment services in South Australia to ensure that older South Australians can access aged care services at the right place and right time for person centred care.
• Collaborating with the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care and Primary Health Networks to deliver a webinar for the aged care sector focussed on exploring the health/aged care interface and opportunities for innovation.

Seniors Card Program

The Seniors Card Program supports social and economic participation of older people and their connectedness to the community. It contributes to making South Australia an affordable and accessible place to live by providing services, important information, community news, events and access to free public transport. The program also facilitates discounts and benefits from participating businesses. There are around 410,000 registered Seniors Card members in South Australia.

In 2022-23, public transport benefits were increased to enable South Australian Seniors Card members to access free Adelaide Metro public transport services all day, every day.

Benefits of the Seniors Card program continued to be communicated to members in a variety of ways, including the Seniors Card Discount Directory, direct marketing (post and email), promotion through partners, social media, WeekendPlus (fortnightly digital magazine) and the new Seniors Card website. In 2022-23, more than 30 per cent of Seniors Card members were subscribed to email communication from Seniors Card. Of the approximately 20,000 new Seniors Card applications received in 2022-23, more than 90 per cent were made online.

Ageing Well Community Grants Program

The South Australian Government, through Office for Ageing Well, provided $600,000 in Ageing Community Grants in 2022-23 to support community organisations and local government projects.

These grants support South Australians to live and age well and promote opportunities for older South Australians to be involved and active in their communities, contributing to the strategic priorities of South Australia’s Plan for Ageing Well 2020-2025.

In 2022-23, the following grant programs ran concurrently through an open tender process, aimed at community organisations and local government across metropolitan and regional South Australia. Projects commenced on 1 June 2023 and will run for 12 months:

• Grants for Seniors awarded funding to 24 recipients totalling $150,302. Funding supports purchase of equipment and delivery of cultural, educational and sporting activities and programs for older people.
• Positive Ageing Fellowship Grants awarded funding to five projects totalling $199,600. Funding is focussed on capability building projects that support older South Australians to age well. A targeted grant of $50,000 was also provided to The Australian Centre for Social Innovation to deliver ongoing coaching, mentoring and support to grant recipients over the 12-month funding period to support sustainability.
• Age Friendly SA Grants awarded funding to six projects totalling $198,037. Funding is focussed on supporting local governments to meet the key priorities of the Age Friendly SA Strategy: Home, Community and environment; Making a contribution; Making it easier to get around; Intergenerational connectedness; and Age friendly services.

Project funding was provided for:

• purchase of equipment
• delivery of cultural, educational and sporting activities and programs
• initiatives to tackle ageing stereotypes and support positive perceptions of ageing
• initiatives that support ageing well, participation, learning and independence
• initiatives to kick-start age friendly innovation projects to support opportunities for older people to connect to local places and community activities.