Lunch & Learn: Preserving Dignity, Overcoming Conflict: Adelaide’s Eldercaring Coordination Project

When family conflict escalates, how do we ensure the older person’s voice is heard?

High levels of family conflict can cause real harm to older persons, leaving their wishes, needs and dignity overshadowed by disagreements.

Elder Abuse Action Australia was joined by Relationships Australia South Australia, to explore Australia’s first pilot of Eldercaring Coordination - an approach to addressing family conflict while keeping older persons at the centre.

Nick Tebbey, National Executive Officer of Relationships Australia, guided the conversation. He’ll was joined by Al Pearce from Relationships Australia South Australia, who will share insights from the pilot.

Bringing their perspectives from Adelaide University were Associate Professor Ben Livings who also shared input from Adjunct Professor Dale Bagshaw and Professor Eileen O’Brien who could not be with us on the day.

Drawing on the South Australian pilot, our presenters explored what worked, what didn’t, and what the experiences of clients and practitioners can teach us about supporting older persons and their families.

Together, we’ll explore:

+The approach: What is eldercaring coordination, and how did it develop?
+The Australian pilot: How was the approach adapted and put into practice?
+The experiences: What did clients and practitioners share about their involvement?
+The lessons: What could the findings mean for future services?

Whether you work directly with older persons, support families or help shape services, join us to consider how we can respond to complex family conflict while centring the voice, needs and dignity of the older person.

Watch the recording on YouTube:

OUR SPEAKERS

Eileen O'Brien - Professor - Adelaide University
Dr Eileen O’Brien is a Professor of Law in the School of Law, Adelaide University. She teaches and researches in ageing and law, real property law (with a particular interest in housing and tenancy law), and consumer law. Eileen is a former academic member of the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia. 

Nick Tebbey - National Executive Officer - Relationships Australia
Nick is the National Executive Officer of the Relationships Australia Federation. After working for over a decade in private legal practice, Nick has worked for a decade in the community sector, including for the last 6 years with Relationships Australia, a leading provider of family and children’s services in Australia. 

Al Pearce - Senior Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner - Relationships Australia South Australia
Al Pearce is a Practice Manager, Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner, Conflict Coach, Elder Mediator, and Eldercaring Coordinator with Relationships Australia South Australia (RASA). With more than 18 years of experience in RASA supporting individuals and families through conflict, change, and complex decision-making, Al has developed a particular passion for helping older people and their families navigate issues associated with ageing, caregiving, future planning, and family conflict. 

Dale Bagshaw - Adjunct Professor - Adelaide University
Dale is the founder and Chair of the Elder Mediation Australasian Network (EMAN), a member of the Elder Mediation International Network (EMIN) Board and Certification Committee and Chair of the Resolution Institute’s Facilitative Elder Mediation Sub Committee. She has been training mediators in Australia since the 1980’s and in 11 different countries, has two national and two international awards for her services to dispute resolution, has led many research projects and published numerous articles, books and conference papers

Ben Livings - Associate Professor -Adelaide University
Ben Livings has held academic positions at universities in France, the UK and Australia, where he currently works as Associate Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice in the College of Business and Law at Adelaide University. Ben's research investigates the ways in which criminal justice processes and other forms of law and regulation address social problems. He is particularly interested in the use of alternatives to mainstream legal mechanisms.