George Brandis to speak about elder abuse

Federal Attorney-General George Brandis is expected to outline a national plan to tackle elder abuse at the fourth national elder abuse conference in Melbourne.

Hosted by Seniors Rights Victoria, the conference aims to link elder abuse to the national discussion about family violence and to help people understand how to spot and prevent it.

Senator Brandis will give his speech at 9am on Wednesday.

Other notable speakers include Australia's age discrimination commissioner Susan Ryan, Professor Marie Beaulieu from Quebec, Canada, and Professor Mick Dodson, director of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies at the Australian National University.

Seniors Rights Victoria manager Janey Blakey says presentations at the conference will deal with ageism and how it impacts upon individuals and society.

She says there will be an emphasis on innovation in how to tackle abuse, with speakers from around the world sharing their successes and failures.

Elder abuse can be physical, social, financial, psychological or sexual.

It is estimated that up to 10 per cent of older people worldwide suffer from elder abuse.

The latest figures released by the National Ageing Research Institute of Seniors Rights Victoria show that financial and psychological/emotional abuse are most commonly reported in Victoria, at 82 per cent.