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Ian Yates

‘Safer at home: Older Australians should be in charge of their own lives’
Ian Yates avatarIan Yates
Experts
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Older Australians are facing discrimination in many areas of their lives. Source: Getty
Experts

‘Ageism is stripping older Australians of their rights and it has to stop’

‘Ageism is stripping older Australians of their rights and it has to stop’

Once you pass a certain age, you are deemed incapable of making decisions about your life or your health.

About Ian Yates

Ian Yates is chief executive of COTA (Council on the Ageing) Australia, the national peak body for older Australians. Ian has held national leadership roles in COTA since 2002, following a 13-year stint as chief executive of COTA SA. He serves on a wide variety of federal government and aged care sector national bodies including the Aged Care Financing Authority, the Aged Care Quality Advisory Council, the Aged Care Sector Committee and recently the Aged Care Workforce Taskforce. Ian is a Sponsor Member of the National Aged Care Alliance, chairs the Alliance’s Aged Care Gateway Advisory Committee and Co-Chairs its Aged Care Roadmap and NACA Blueprint Implementation Group.  Ian is also a member of the ASIC Consumer Advisory Panel and of the Advisory Board of the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR).  Other roles include Chair of the Management Committee of the Australasian Journal on Ageing; a Director of COTA’s membership services company and the Aged Rights Advocacy Service.  He has held a number senior positions in public health governance in South Australia and served on the Flinders University Council for 20 years including seven years as Deputy Chancellor and Chair of both its Audit and Resources Committees and Alumni. Ian is Emeritus Deputy Chancellor of Flinders University and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University. He was awarded Membership in the Order of Australia (AM) in June 2005.