Housing for the Aged Action Group has today released a new report looking at the link between housing and elder abuse, to coincide with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The report examines the experiences of older people facing housing insecurity who presented to Housing for the Aged Action Group with suspected elder abuse between 2020-2024. The findings highlight that elder abuse is a complex and hidden issue, most often occurring within close family relationships and within shared living arrangements, and reinforce the importance of secure and stable housing as a critical pathway out of abuse.

“This deep dive into five years of our client data shows that many older people are living with people who are doing them harm, often because they have no choice. Rising costs and limited availability of affordable housing leaves many people trapped in cycles of abuse,” states Fiona York, Executive Officer.

“Housing represents a crucial pathway for older people to escape abuse. There is therefore a need for increased investment in more public and community housing to ensure that older people (and their adult children) have access to affordable and secure housing alternatives. Integrating housing support within the broader context of elder abuse and family violence will also be critical to improving outcomes for older people facing abuse and mistreatment,” she continues.

The report shows that elder abuse can occur across different housing conditions, and frequently arises from external stressors such as insecure housing and financial hardship. Older adults of any age were at risk of experiencing abuse, and were more likely to be living with the people who caused harm, either in the same home or property.

Many clients did not explicitly identify their situation as elder abuse, instead indirectly describing behaviours and harms that aligned with it. This reflects both the challenge an older person faces in acknowledging they have experienced abuse and the difficulty of recognising harm within emotionally complex and close relationships. 

Read the Full Report

Read the Summary Report