Seniors Legal and Support Services 2023

SENIORS LEGAL AND SUPPORT SERVICE - 25 May 2023 Hon. Craig CRAWFORD, MP. Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Seniors and Disability Services

I am pleased to inform the House the Palaszczuk government has expanded its Seniors Legal and Support Service. Older Queenslanders in the Moreton Bay, North, Logan, Beaudesert and Ipswich areas are now benefitting from the expanded service. Additional outreach services are also available to regional and remote communities including outback Queensland, Cape York and the Torres Strait. This will add to the services already available in Brisbane, Toowoomba, Hervey Bay, Cairns, Townsville, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Gold Coast, Mackay, Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast.

We now have 16 seniors legal and support services in Queensland and have delivered an additional $2.85 million per year to fund these services across the state. The Seniors Legal and Support Service provides vital supports to older Queenslanders who are experiencing or are at risk of elder abuse. These services help them to access individualised support, referral, counselling and mediation services.

The Palaszczuk government is committed to delivering better services for our state’s seniors. All Queenslanders, especially older Queenslanders deserve to live free from abuse and have their financial assets protected.

The Seniors Legal and Support Service can provide free legal advice, advocacy as well as strategies to keep money and assets safe. The Caxton Legal Centre, a community organisation with a long history of providing free legal and financial advice, is working with older people in the Logan, Beaudesert and Moreton regions. With increased funding, Caxton Legal expects to help more older people in these regions by visiting them in hospitals, in aged care and in their homes.

They hope to connect seniors with the supports that they need to stop abuse and to maintain supportive family relationships. Specifically, they will work with First Nations older people through community-led and community designed programs.

Queensland as a state owes a debt of gratitude for the contribution of our seniors. That is why it is important that seniors are supported to lead full, active and safe lives.