Nell was dying in aged care when her precious rings vanished. She wasn’t the only one

Police are responding to almost 200 reported thefts in Victorian aged care every year, including the alleged robbery of more than $40,000 of jewellery from a 97-year-old woman who was dying.

As detectives investigate the theft of jewellery from rooms at Kew Botanica Community Care in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, families and aged care experts warn that thieves are preying on some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.

Crime Statistics Agency figures show 183 thefts in Victorian nursing homes were reported to police in the year to September 2025, up from 132 in the same period in 2021.

While this signals a return to pre-pandemic levels, Professor Joseph Ibrahim, an expert in aged care at La Trobe University, suspects the figures are the tip of the iceberg.

He said many residents don’t report suspected thefts because they fear repercussions from the people charged with their care.

“If you are in a disempowered position, your ability to speak up is limited,” he said.

Ibrahim said aged care residents were vulnerable to theft due to the physical and cognitive decline that comes with old age.

He said their reports of theft could be dismissed as unreliable by family, staff and management because up to two-thirds of aged care residents have underlying dementia.

“People then trust the account of the staff member or the person that is cognitively intact and can give a more plausible answer,” Ibrahim said.

On December 8, Rachel went to visit her beloved aunt Nell as she slipped in and out of consciousness in a bed at Kew Botanica Care Community.

The 97-year-old had stopped eating and drinking and had just days to live.

When Rachel entered Nell’s room she noticed that the green leather bag that her sharp and witty aunt always had by her side was unzipped and sitting on a chair.

Nell’s three precious gold rings were missing from the jewellery boxes she stored in the bag. Someone had also riffled through her drawer and emptied other jewellery boxes, according to Rachel.

“The discovery of the theft was extremely upsetting and added so much pain to what was already a stressful and intense time,” Rachel said.

Rachel, who does not want her surname published for privacy reasons, reported the theft to the aged care service and police.

She soon discovered her aunt wasn’t alone, as staff members, residents and their families told her of five more occasions where jewellery had gone missing over a two-month period.

“The victims are elderly and among the most vulnerable members of our community,” Rachel said. “They deserve better, and the people who love them deserve better.”

A spokeswoman for Opal HealthCare, which runs the Kew aged care service, said there had been two allegations of theft in the past three months that had been reported to police. She said there had also been an incidence of lost jewellery.

“Kew Botanica Care Community is a high-quality communal living environment with more than 130 residents and hundreds of visitors each year,” the spokeswoman said.

“In residential aged care environments, it is not uncommon for personal items to be misplaced from time to time. We encourage safe storage of personal valuables in lockable cupboards provided in each resident bedroom.”

Staff members had provided CCTV footage of relevant common areas to the police, but they couldn’t find any evidence of theft, the spokeswoman said.

But a police spokeswoman said the investigation was ongoing.

“Officers were told rings were stolen from rooms at the residence,” she said.

No arrests have been made. Police urged anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers.

Elder Rights Australia chief executive Debra Nicholl said she advised people entering residential care to leave their valuables behind.

“This can be difficult for someone who has a sentimental item that they have worn for many years,” she acknowledged.

“There is a risk, and of course, it is up to the older person to decide if they are willing to take that risk.”

‘The victims are elderly and among the most vulnerable members of our community. They deserve better, and the people who love them deserve better.’

Rachel, whose aunt Nell was robbed in a Kew aged care centre

Nicholl said she knew of a family who made replicas of valuable rings so their mother could wear them in care.

She said aged care providers needed to ensure they provided residents with a safe, secure environment where reliable, trustworthy staff were employed and residents’ behaviour was monitored.

“It is, however, a complex environment with a number of people moving around and so again, store any valuables in the home’s safe or with a trusted person,” she said.

A spokesman for federal Aged Care Minister Sam Rae said the government had strengthened quality standards, improved reporting and invested resources into the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission to protect people in aged care.

“Every single older Australian in residential aged care deserves to live with the certainty that they’ll be treated with dignity as they age and not be subject to shameful crimes like these,” the spokesman said.

Under the serious incident response scheme, which began in 2021, aged care providers are required to report alleged thefts by staff, volunteers or residents to the commission.

Advice from the commission reads: “Depending on the nature of the incident, you may also need to contact the police.

“Repeated cases of theft or a pattern of missing items should be considered as more serious.”

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