ABA backs national awareness campaign on elder abuse

The Australian Banking Association (ABA) welcomes the Federal Government’s upcoming campaign to further educate the community about elder abuse.  

ABA CEO Anna Bligh said this was a timely opportunity to further raise awareness and shine the spotlight on financial elder abuse.  

“Australian banks are deeply conscious of financial elder abuse. They see it playing out every day and have measures in place to help prevent it and keep older Australians safe,” Ms Bligh said.  

“The ABA has developed guidelines for industry to prevent and respond to financial elder abuse. Banks also train their staff to recognise red flags and have specialist teams that can respond and support victims. 

“The key to preventing elder financial abuse is awareness – equipping people with the knowledge of what it might look like, how it can occur, and then empowering them to take action if they see it happening or are a victim themselves.” 

Ms Bligh also called on progress to be made to better harmonise powers of attorney arrangements across jurisdictions.  

“Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPOA) should be an instrument of protection but the complexity created by the lack of harmonisation of laws between jurisdictions remains a significant barrier to real progress,” Ms Bligh said.  

“This lack of harmonisation causes confusion for older people and their attorneys and creates unnecessary complexity for banks and other entities required to act on EPOAs. 

“Harmonisation of EPOA arrangements, establishing a national online register of enduring documents and creating an authority to report and act on suspected abuse were all recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission in 2017 and need to be urgently progressed to better protect older Australians.”  

More information on how to prevent and respond to financial elder abuse can be found here.  

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