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Report abuse now

If you think a person is at immediate risk of harm, call 000.

Anyone can report abuse to OPG if they think an adult with impaired decision-making capacity is being abused, exploited or neglected (including self-neglect).

If an adult with impaired decision-making capacity lives in Queensland and their situation meets one of the criteria below, please complete our Investigation Request form

  • When the adult has a personal attorney, guardian or administrator acting for them – if that individual/s using that power, or failing to use that power, in a way that is harming the adult either financially or personally.
  • When no one is formally helping an adult make decisions (such as under an Enduring Power of Attorney) – putting a formal arrangement (such as appointing a guardian/administrator) in place to help with decision making for the adult, would protect the adult from harm or neglect, either from themselves or others.

The decision whether or not to investigate the allegations is at the discretion of the Public Guardian.

Your request for an investigation will be assessed in line with the Public Guardian Act 2014 and the OPG investigations assessment guidelines. We will generally give priority to matters posing significant risk of harm to the adult.

If you are concerned about an older person who has capacity to make their own decisions, you should contact the Elder Abuse Prevention Unit, who will be able to discuss your concerns and determine the best course of action.

If you require any clarification or wish to discuss your concerns further before making a request for investigation to us you can contact us and one of our team can talk through the situation with you to decide what the best course of action is.

Sometimes there can be confusion over what the role of an attorney is, or an attorney is simply unaware of their responsibilities and are inadvertently causing harm to an adult. If you think an attorney doesn’t fully understand their responsibilities you can provide them with our Responsibilities of an Attorney factsheet.