An advocacy organisation says there are many adults at risk who are falling through the gaps throughout the country.

It comes after it was revealed a caregiver at a retirement village had been jailed for more than a decade for raping an elderly woman and sexually assaulting another.

The daughter of the woman who was raped earlier said she wanted changes made at a national level to ensure “the right people are caring for our elderly” and she wants more to be done to help identify if residents are being sexually assaulted.

Vulnerable Adults New Zealand board member Ailsa Claire said the case involving the caregiver was “incredibly sad” but not surprising.

“The difficulty we’ve got with residential care is that the agencies that are inspecting those facilities are inspecting facilities, but no-one is looking at the care of an individual.”

Claire, who was previously the chief executive at the Auckland District Health Board, said Vulnerable Adults New Zealand was advocating for an Adult Safeguarding Bill.

She said the Bill would provide for an independent organisation to oversee safeguarding for adults at risk throughout the country.

The draft Bill said it would protect adults with “care and support needs who are experiencing, or at risk of, harm, abuse, neglect, or exploitation”.

“It applies in all settings, including private homes, hospitals, residential care, workplaces, and public spaces and promotes the rights, wellbeing, dignity, and autonomy of adults at risk.”

Claire said the Bill could cover up to 55,000 New Zealanders a year.

“We believe that a Bill is required because there is no single agency in New Zealand to whom you can report abuse or neglect. No-one has the powers to protect an individual, remove them to a place of safety, to ban other people from being in touch with them or anything like that, and no-one has the responsibility to coordinate the agencies.

“Many agencies, voluntary organisations, etc, often have a single part of the picture, but there is no co-ordination.”

Claire said abuse of vulnerable adults was not rare, with the organisation estimating one in 10 New Zealanders was “vulnerable or an adult at risk”.

“That doesn’t mean that people are being abused or neglected, but we are at risk … any of us could become vulnerable or an adult at risk because of illness, mental health needs, or old age.”

She said when she was at Auckland DHB, she was aware they were often returning people to places where they could have been at risk.

“We had no powers to investigate or intervene. And unless we believed that the issue met the Crimes Act, then no one else had that power either.”

Claire said the organisation had received support for the bill.

“We spoke to the chief executive of every government agency who had aspects of this in their responsibilities, and without exception, all of them said that a bill was required, and that they felt that it would change the landscape.”

The organisation had also spoken to several MPs, and were encouraging people to contact their local MPs.

“I believe that if we can raise awareness and get the political support, that change will be made. Nobody we have approached from an agency or a politician has opposed the bill.”

Where to get help:

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111