Summary

7.1          Financial abuse is one of the most common types of elder abuse. Banks and other financial institutions may be in a position to detect and prevent some forms of financial abuse of their customers.

7.2          In this chapter, the ALRC proposes that banks take reasonable steps to identify and help prevent such abuse, and that this be prescribed in the Code of Banking Practice, with which subscribing banks must comply. Reasonable steps might include providing information about abuse to older customers, setting up systems to identify abuse, training staff and, in some cases, reporting abuse to relevant authorities.

7.3          Superannuation funds may also be the target of elder financial abuse, particularly less regulated self-managed funds. For example, an individual trustee of a self-managed fund who loses decision-making ability may be vulnerable to abuse. This chapter asks whether self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) should be subject to greater regulation to prevent elder abuse.