June 15 marks World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), a globally recognised event that brings attention to a growing but often overlooked issue: the abuse, mistreatment, and neglect of older people.
Established by the United Nations in 2006, WEAAD provides a platform for communities, organisations, and governments worldwide to raise awareness and promote effective responses to prevent elder abuse. In 2025, as populations continue to age rapidly, this day holds even greater urgency and relevance.
Understanding elder abuse
Elder abuse affects millions of older adults globally, leading to serious physical, emotional, psychological, and financial harm. In severe cases, it can even result in death. Increasing awareness is essential to preventing abuse, protecting vulnerable individuals, and ensuring that older adults are treated with the dignity, care, and respect they deserve.
What is elder abuse?
Elder abuse refers to any act or failure to act, that causes harm or distress to an older person. It can occur in private homes, within communities, or in aged care facilities. Common types of elder abuse include:
- Physical abuse (e.g. hitting, pushing, restraining)
- Emotional or psychological abuse (e.g. threats, humiliation, manipulation)
- Sexual abuse
- Financial abuse (e.g. fraud, theft, misuse of funds or assets)
- Neglect (e.g. failure to meet basic needs such as food, hygiene, or medical care)
Why are older adults vulnerable?
Older adults are especially vulnerable to abuse due to physical limitations, cognitive decline, social isolation, and dependence on others. These factors can make it hard to report abuse, with fear, shame, or hopelessness often preventing them from speaking out.
In aged care/nursing home facilities, abuse may go unnoticed due to poor oversight or ignored concerns. Sadly, it is sometimes not taken seriously by authorities, worsening the impact.
Financial abuse is one of the most common and under reported forms of elder mistreatment. It can include:
- Using an older person’s bank account or credit card without their permission
- Coercing or tricking them into signing legal or financial documents (e.g. property transfers, wills, or loans)
- Misusing a power of attorney for personal gain
- Stealing money, valuables, or essential household items
- Moving into the person’s home without consent or failing to contribute financially
- Pressuring them to give away money, assets, or make changes to their will
- Promising care in exchange for money or assets, but then neglecting to provide that care
- Preventing them from accessing their own money, financial records or financial advice
Warning signs of financial abuse may include:
- Unexplained loss of money or valuable items
- Sudden changes in banking habits or unexplained withdrawals
- Missing financial documents or confusion about recent transactions
- Inability to pay for basics like food, clothing, or medications
- Transfers of property or large gifts made when the person appears confused or unwell
- Fear, anxiety, or withdrawal, especially around certain people
- Visible neglect (e.g. malnutrition, poor hygiene) despite having financial resources
What can you do?
- Learn to recognise the signs of elder abuse
- Listen with empathy and without judgment if someone shares concerns
- Speak up if you suspect abuse, report it to the appropriate authority
- Support older people’s independence and decision-making wherever possible
- Promote respect and inclusion for older adults in your community
Concerned you might be a victim of financial abuse? Here’s some helpful tips:
- Keep your mail, bank cards, PINs, and passwords secure.
- Store cash, cheque books, and legal documents in a safe place.
- Review bank statements regularly for suspicious activity.
- Avoid signing anything you don’t fully understand.
- If setting up a power of attorney, consider appointing more than one trusted person.
- Limit the number of accounts to make monitoring easier.
Understanding power of attorney and enduring power of attorney
A power of attorney (POA) is a document created by your lawyer that grants one or more persons the authority to act on your behalf for financial and legal matters. This means that the designated person or persons can operate your bank accounts, spend money on your behalf, and buy and sell your assets: property and/or shares. The general POA is only effective while you have the mental capacity to make and express decisions for yourself.
An enduring power of attorney (EPOA) allows someone to continue to make financial decisions on your behalf if your health deteriorates and you suffer from diminished mental capacity. You can choose when your power of attorney comes into effect, and it can be tailored to your requirements.
If you are thinking about appointing a power of attorney or other decision-making authority, you should carefully consider whether they have the right skills to assist you now and in the future. To avoid someone unethically exploiting their power, you should assess these arrangements at least annually, to ensure your support team continue to have your best interests at heart when helping to manage your affairs.
Our impact
As a customer-owned bank, we are a member focused, values-driven organisation and we are committed to making banking easy, safe and accessible for all of our members – especially those most vulnerable. That’s why we are ready to help with tools and information on how to help keep you and your banking safe.
We’ve put together some helpful information in our Elder Financial Abuse Guide to help you protect yourself or someone you love from elder financial abuse. It covers the various types of elder financial abuse, how to recognise the warning signs and safeguard against financial abuse, scams and fraud, as well as the various resources and support services available to assist.
As part of the respect and protect initiative, our terms and conditions were updated to help prevent the misuse of products and services and combat financial abuse. Staff have also been further trained to help identify the warning signs, red flags and assess transaction data for signs of financial abuse. Additional member education and support has been introduced through content aligned to hardship, financial abuse, accessibility and navigating challenging life events.
We’re constantly working towards ensuring our products, services and platforms are available and accessible for everyone.
Get support
Form a support network that includes people like your GP, lawyer, accountant, a friend, and a family member.
- Your GP can assess your capacity to make decisions—raise concerns during check-ups.
- A lawyer can help with your will, legal documents, and power of attorney. Free legal advice is also available through Legal Aid or community legal centres.
- An accountant can note power of attorney arrangements and help watch for unusual account activity.
Need help?
If you are worried that you or your loved ones are vulnerable, seek help:
- Elder abuse phone line 1800 ELDERHelp (1800 353 374) directs callers to the elder abuse service in their state or territory.
- Relationships Australia publish a list of state and territory assistance services.
- Lifeline provides support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for those in crisis.
- MoneySmart.gov.au publish a range of resources that can help you.
- The Australian Institute of Family Studies also publish a list of elder abuse support services.
- Be Connected provides online learning resources to empower all Australians to thrive in a digital world.
