Victorian Public Advocate, Julian Gardner, has recently been on the air waves, and in the print media, espousing the view that the current demand for mandatory reporting is simply a 'knee jerk' reaction to the recent shocking allegations of sexual assault of frail older people in care. "It might look like action," he states and then proceeds to tell us why it’s really not.

Now this columnist would be the first to admit that the introduction of mandatory reporting would be most unlikely to prevent all incidents of elder abuse from occurring. Much more than that must be done to protect vulnerable people. However, Public Advocate Gardner misses some very salient points.

Firstly, he mixes and confuses the two issues of financial elder abuse and the abuse and neglect of frail residents of aged-care facilities. They are different issues and require different responses. Current proposals relate to the mandatory reporting of abuse when it occurs in residential settings - where vulnerable people are supposed to be cared for and protected.

Secondly, he says that there are "grave difficulties in defining what is to be reported". 

Well really? And it’s easy to define the abuse of children? Ask a teacher that one. When exactly, for example, does a smack become child abuse? What legislation, and which regulatory regimes, would we have if absolute clarity was deemed essential?

More worrying is the Public Advocate’s stated view that "it affronts dignity and rights to assume a person to be incompetent just because they are 65 or some other (yet to be specified) age".  

Julian Gardner, as Victoria’s chief guardian, must be more aware than most of us of the extreme vulnerability of the majority of residents in our aged-care homes. And yes, there is always a balancing act to be achieved when people who are vulnerable need protection as well as their independence. But people who find themselves in residential care, even those who are deemed 'competent', are generally in no position to stand up for their rights. Their very frailty prevents this from occurring. The power imbalance is extreme and their dignity has generally been affronted many times over.

Finally, how will the culture within aged-care facilities ever be changed – unless it is made totally unacceptable to abuse (neglect, mistreat, bully, verbally abuse or anyway harm) those who are frail, possibly ill and quite likely near the end of their life?

Mandatory reporting is just one part of a very necessary culture change which tells everyone involved that these things are just not on. It affirms the need for respect and the upholding of rights and dignity – not the reverse.