New project to tackle financial elder abuse

The Australian Human Rights Commission is leading the establishment of the Financial Elder Abuse Action Collaborative, a collective of representatives from the banking and financial services and peak community organisations sectors, to work together to improve the prevention and response to financial elder abuse.

Financial elder abuse is defined as the misuse or theft of an older person’s money or assets. This can cover a broad spectrum of behaviours, sometimes describing as existing ‘in the grey area between thoughtless practice and outright theft’.

Governments and the community increasingly recognise that the abuse and mistreatment of older people is a serious social, human rights and health problem. According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, about one in six older Australians report experiencing elder abuse in the previous 12 months and this is on the rise according to National and state-based elder abuse helpline data. Financial abuse is the third most common form of elder abuse, after psychological abuse and neglect. 

Age Discrimination Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald AM said the time to take action is now given the many risk factors contributing to financial elder abuse are likely to increase in the next 20-30 years, including the issue of inheritance impatience. These factors include: 

• the growing ageing population, with people living longer and healthier lives
• the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history and 
• growing economic pressures such as the rising cost of living, lack of affordable housing and low wage growth.

“We are likely to see an increase to the recent trends of intergenerational financial assistance to support family members, such as adult children living at home longer or returning home, building granny flats or tiny home arrangements and the ‘bank of Mum and Dad’, sometimes without any written agreements. This can leave an older person financially destitute when they may need those finances for their care and well-being in later life,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

Mr Fitzgerald said the Financial Elder Abuse Action Collaborative will consider what is working well and what are the gaps. 

“The project will consider systems change and education that supports and safeguards older people’s interactions with their financial transactions to reduce the risk and incidents of financial elder abuse,” he said. 

With financial support from the Federal Attorney General’s Department, the Financial Elder Abuse Project began in late November 2024 and is due to run for 14 months.

• Learn more about elder abuse
• For support service referrals in your local state or territory call 1800 ELDERHelp (1800 353 374)
• Learn more about the Commission’s broader elder abuse work