A duty of care for older generations

Like in many other countries around the globe, Australia’s population is ageing. In fact, ABS projections suggest that nearly a quarter of the population will be 65 years or older by 2051.

With a growing number of older people comes a heightened risk of elder vulnerability. Australians lost a record $851m through scams in 2020, and those aged 65-plus suffered the largest proportion of financial loss (23.9%). Although scams are some of the best-recognised attacks on seniors, there are many different types of ageism, inequality and elder abuse that often slip under the radar.

Some may think of ‘elder abuse’ as being impersonal or petty crime, such as a stranger stealing your gran’s purse on the street. However, recent data from Senior’s Rights Victoria shows that 91% of elder abusers were family members of the vulnerable person – and in 67% of cases were their son or daughter.

Those of us working in finance have a duty of care to our customers, and it’s important to understand how personal and complex the issue of elder abuse is, as well as to be able to recognise the subtle signs of financial abuse and know how to act on them.

Elder abuse is mistreatment of an older person by someone with whom the older person has a relationship of trust, such as a partner, family member, friend or carer. It may be physical, social, financial, psychological or sexual and can include mistreatment and neglect or violating an older person’s basic right to feel safe. In some cases, the person’s family, friends and carers may not know that their actions amount to elder abuse.

Financial abuse is one of the most common types of elder abuse, constituting 62% of cases. Red flags could include:

• a family member or friend attempting to handle all/most communication or financial paperwork on behalf of a seemingly competent older person, with no authority to do so;
• signs of misuse of an enduring power of attorney, guardianship or administration order, with control over an older person’s property/financial affairs to their detriment (such as the attorney using the donor’s funds for their own personal expenses);
• unpaid bills or lack of medical care, although the customer has enough money to pay;
• the customer giving implausible explanations or appearing confused about what they are doing with their money;
• the customer being reluctant to answer questions or provide information;
• funds only being drawn for gifting to children, without a genuine customer desire to do so.

As Australia’s leading reverse mortgage provider, Heartland takes its customer duty of care seriously, particularly when it comes to elder financial abuse. Some of the processes we have put in place for these loans involve requiring all loan applicants to seek independent legal advice, encouraging financial advice and family discussion, and maintaining strict requirements for engaging customer agents (like powers of attorney). We also monitor the customer’s account for suspicious activity or behaviour post-settlement.

If we do suspect that elder abuse is occur-ring, here are some of the actions we take:

1. Privacy: If a child or friend of a customer calls, we don’t release information unless their express and formal permission is given.
2. Customer discussion: Our people complete a compliance call with the customer prior to approval, which ensures they not only understand the nature of their loan but are not under any undue pressure to take it.
3. Escalation: All concerns and suspicions of financial abuse are escalated immediately. We may speak to other family members or third parties, report it to the police, notify protective agencies, or request a welfare visit to ensure protection of the customer.

If you suspect someone is experiencing elder abuse, you can call the national elder abuse phone line on 1800 ELDERHelp (1800 353 374). For crisis or emotional support, call Lifeline’s 24-hour support line on 13 11 14.

Sharon Yardley is head of operations, risk and compliance at leading reverse mortgage lender Heartland Finance.