Family group conferencing as an additional service response to the abuse of older people in Australia

The abuse of older people, often perpetrated by family and friends, is
a complex multidimensional social problem. In most Australian
jurisdictions, responses are currently limited to either primary-level
(information, education and referral) or tertiary-level statutory
responses. Outside of Australia, Family Group Conferencing has
partially addressed this secondary-level service gap by inviting the
older person and their wider family system to identify and
establish a family-led plan to address potential or actual risk of
abuse. This paper presents the core processes of Family Group
Conferencing, including the quality of the established evidence
base for its use with older people. The limitations and caveats
associated with this approach are explored, and a way forward is
proposed to explore the utility and suitability of Family Group
Conferencing for adults in Australia in response to some types and
severities of abuse and mistreatment.