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Input on a legally binding instrument on the human rights of older persons

Submission Date: 22 April 2026

The Law Council of Australia provided a submission to the Intergovernmental Working Group on Older Persons regarding the general framework, architecture and guiding principles of a legally binding instrument on the human rights of older persons.1

The Law Council thanks its National Human Rights Committee, National Elder Law and Succession Law Committee, the Law Society of New South Wales, the New South Wales Bar Association, the Law Society of Western Australia, the Queensland Law Society and the Law Society of South Australia for their contribution to the preparation of this submission.

The Law Council strongly supports a legally binding instrument on the human rights of older persons.2 The Law Council recognises that older persons face specific human rights challenges including poverty, age-related discrimination and abuse. This has been confirmed in the Australian context in official reports,3 including of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.4 It is also reflected in the Australian Government’s National Plan to end the Abuse and Mistreatment of Older People 2026–2036.5 The development and implementation of such an instrument would provide the strategic architecture to underpin action by States parties, civil society and communities to more effectively protect the rights of older persons.

1 IGWG, Call for inputs (22 April 2026).
2 See eg Law Council, International Convention on the Rights of Older Persons (Media release, 9 October 2020).
3 See eg Australian Institute of Family Studies, National Elder Abuse Prevalence Study: Final Report (December 2021).
4 Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Website).
5 Australian Government, National Plan to End the Abuse and Mistreatment of Older People 2026-2036 (Report, March 2026).

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Last Updated on 13/05/2026

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