“They face a disproportionate risk of death, are impacted more profoundly by social distancing measures and they are further threatened due to their care support needs and living in higher risk environments such as aged care facilities.”

According to the Caxton Legal Centre, the statistics are already telling that older Australians need legal support.

“In Australia, sadly, all deaths due to the virus have been of older people,” Ms Koning said.

“The primary concern is that our health system may not be able to cope with the number of people who become seriously unwell and that decisions made about treatment may deny older Queenslanders their right to health services and life on an equal basis with others,” Ms Koning said.

Lawyers and social workers in the Seniors Legal and Support Service are working with older people to relieve what may be the unintended consequences flowing from social distancing measures.

“Social isolation is a risk factor for elder abuse,” Colette Bots, director of the service said.

“At the moment we are focused on ways for older people to increase their connectedness with essential services, stay safely connected with family and friends and increase their knowledge about the impact of COVID-19 and how to protect their rights during the pandemic.”

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This comes after Queesnland had announced major measures that affected courts and the legal community. Civil and litigation cases were delayed long term and legal aid was held back as steps were taken to mitigate COVID-19 in the courts.