If you are, or someone you know is, in Victoria and experiencing elder abuse, call our confidential helpline on 1300 368 821.
This submission reflects on the proposals through the lens of older Victorians at a heightened level of risk, with particular attention to those experiencing intersectional disadvantage and/or digital exclusion.
COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria welcome the latest set of Essential Services Commission proposals to strengthen protections for Victorian energy consumers through the Energy Retail Code of Practice.
Elder abuse is both prevalent and under-recognised within Australia. Annually, approximately one in six (14.8%) older Australians experience some form of elder abuse. Research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) in 2021i found that psychological abuse is the most common form, followed by financial abuse – a trend that mirrors the case data of Seniors Rights Victoria.
Victoria is getting older, and the next Victorian Government must be ready.
While this guide relates to older people with all types of disability, it provides targeted advice for some of the most common forms of disability experienced by participants in community aged care.
Imagine being told that your decades of experience are a liability rather than an asset — that is the reality facing hundreds of thousands of older Victorians. At the same time as people are needing and choosing to work longer, ageist attitudes and practices are shutting them out.
The Department of Justice and Community Safety has proposed three options for remaking the VCAT fee Regulations. COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria support Option 3.
In making this submission, we highlight the importance of specifically addressing the needs of older people, both as a large proportion of those living with a disability and in relation to other aspects of ageing that also impact on accessibility and support needs
COTA Victoria commends the current draft Community Infrastructure Plan; the feedback provided through this submission is intended to strengthen the Plan rather than reframe it.
Evidence suggests that elder abuse is a significant, growing, and distinct form of family violence that intersects with suicide risk in later life yet remains inadequately captured within current systems. Improving the visibility of elder abuse across prevention, service delivery, data collection, and coronial investigation is critical to strengthening DFSV-related suicide prevention and ensuring that older people are not overlooked in policy, practice, and reform efforts.
For close to 75 years, COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria have worked alongside older people to shape policies, services, and systems that support safety, dignity, inclusion, and quality of life.
Older Victorians play vital roles leading advocacy and action to improve communities. They do this through a diverse range of formal and informal groups and activities, often on a voluntary basis. Encouraging and supporting this leadership is a crucial part of making Victoria a place that respects, engages and benefits from its older citizens.
Are you an older Victorian interested in taking on a leadership role in your community? This resource outlines practical first steps to help you get started.
We are pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the finalisation of new guidelines on payment of rates and charges to local councils across Victoria.
Digital inclusion is about ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to connect, participate, and benefit from the digital world in their everyday lives.
COTA Victoria Strategic Plan 2025-2030: We improve the lives of Victorians as they age: by championing the strengths, desires, and decisions of older people.
This submission reflects emerging pressures across Victoria’s elder abuse and family violence systems. It calls for strategic investment through the 2026–27 Victorian State Budget to strengthen prevention, early intervention, response, and recovery.
We set out a select collection of funding initiatives under the umbrella of five priority areas that we believe warrant serious consideration across Victorian Government portfolios for support in the 2026-27 Victorian State Budget.
Over a three-week consultation, 151 Victorians shared their views on investment gaps and opportunities to improve infrastructure and services that support positive ageing. 80% of responders were aged 65+.
Many older Victorians continue to face unfair treatment simply because of their age. This member briefing explains what age discrimination is, how common it is, the laws that protect against it, and what more might needs to be done to prevent it.
COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria hear regularly from older Victorians with a disability who have experienced discrimination in workplaces, services and other areas of public life.
As part of the Victorian Seniors Festival 2025, COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria, in collaboration with Leadership Victoria and Volunteering Victoria, celebrated older Victorians stepping into leadership roles and making a difference in their communities.
The Victorian Government has launched Until every Victorian is Safe: Third Rolling Action Plan (RAP) to End Family and Sexual Violence 2025–2027 as part of its commitment to building a future where every person is safe, respected, and free from violence.
Our Policy & Advocacy team has been actively exploring how older Victorians experience social connectedness and how we can better support those who feel isolated or disconnected.
