Member briefing: Digital inclusion for older Australians with a disability
Digital inclusion is about ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to connect, participate, and benefit from the digital world in their everyday lives.
Policy
COTA Victoria Strategic Plan 2025-2030
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.
Victorian Elder Abuse Strategic Alliance (VEASA) – Submission for the Victorian State Budget 2026-27
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.
Investing in ageing well: Submission for the Victorian State Budget 2026-27
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.
Victorian State Budget 2026–27: Older Victorians’ priorities
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+.
Briefing: Understanding and addressing age discrimination in Victoria
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.
Submission to the review of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992
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.
Watch on-demand: Older Victorians Shaping Communities – Focus on leadership
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.
Member briefing: Until every Victorian is safe – Third Rolling Action Plan to End Family and Sexual Violence 2025-2027
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.
Building stronger communities: Understanding loneliness and connection
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.
Renting in Victoria: What’s changing and what still needs to change
Download briefing as PDF If you’re renting, or care about someone who is, you’ve probably noticed how hard it has
Older people shaping our work: 2024–2025 engagement snapshot
Older Victorians have been at the heart of our research, policy, and advocacy efforts. Here’s how our Policy and Advocacy team has worked with older people, for older people, ensuring their voices influence real change.
Reference guide on intersectionality in elder abuse
This guide has been developed to support practitioners, policymakers, and organisations across various sectors. These include family violence, aged care, disability, legal, health, housing, and social services, all working to adopt an intersectional approach to elder abuse prevention and response.
Aged care reform and multicultural CHSP providers
Our project highlights mixed experiences, hopes and concerns about aged care reform among multicultural CHSP providers.
Agenda for Action: Disability supports for older Victorians 2025-2029
Older Victorians with disability are being systematically under served by existing policy and service frameworks. While the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has improved the lives of many younger people with disability, those who acquire or live with disability beyond the NDIS age threshold are often excluded from comparable levels of support.
Submission to the Inquiry into Community Consultation Practices
Seniors Rights Victoria welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this inquiry into community consultation practices in Victoria.
Member briefing: The Victorian State Budget 2025-26
The 2025-26 State Budget was handed down by Treasurer Jaclyn Symes yesterday, 20 May 2025.
COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria (SRV) have developed a special member briefing…
Local government planning for healthy ageing
COTA Victoria has a long-standing commitment to support councils’ plans for healthy ageing. We’ve now developed a suite of new resource materials to help drive the important local efforts that councils provide in supporting older people to be healthy, active, and engaged.
Submission to the Inquiry into Ambulance Victoria
COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria welcome the opportunity to provide feedback on the challenges facing Ambulance Victoria (AV), particularly concerning call-taking, dispatch, ambulance ramping, paramedic working conditions, and the broader implications these issues have for older Victorians.
Submission on the National Plan to End the Abuse and Mistreatment of Older People 2024-2034
COTA Victoria and SRV broadly support the direction of the second National Plan to End the Abuse and Mistreatment of Older People 2024–2034. However, we believe there are several areas where improvements can be made to enhance its clarity, accountability, and overall impact.
COTA National Alliance Submission on the National Plan to End the Abuse and Mistreatment of Older People 2024-2034
The COTA National Alliance welcomes the second National Plan to End the Abuse and Mistreatment of Older Australians. However, to ensure the plan achieves meaningful and sustainable outcomes, we recommend a few changes that focus on clarity, accountability, and resources.
Briefing: Findings of Survey of Older People with Disabilities
In September 2024, COTA Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria launched an online survey on disability supports for older Victorians. This occurred in parallel with the release of a discussion paper developed with partner peak bodies in the ageing and disability sectors. The survey and discussion paper are part of an ongoing policy advocacy process to address gaps and inequities in the provision of disability support to older people.
Submission to Review of Primary Health Network Business Model
This submission focuses chiefly on the role and processes used by Primary Health Networks (PHNs) in Victoria in the establishment and management of the Care Finder program in Aged Care.
Submission to Department of Social Services consultation on General Foundational Supports
We welcome the opportunity to provide brief input on how General Foundational Supports (GFS) can effectively respond to the needs of older Victorians with a disability – a frequently overlooked demographic in disability policy discussions.