Elder financial abuse: recognising it, preventing it, and where to turn

Elder financial abuse — the inappropriate or unauthorised use of an older person's money, assets, or property by someone in a position of trust — is more common than most families expect. Research estimates that somewhere between 2% and 14% of older Australians experience some form of elder abuse in any given year, with financial abuse making up a substantial proportion of that total. The 2-14% range is consistent with Australian elder abuse research (Australian Institute of Family Studies; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). The Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Personal Safety Survey and AIFS National Elder Abuse Prevalence Study report broadly comparable findings: financial abuse is one of the most common forms of elder abuse identified, often co-occurring with psychological abuse. The range varies primarily because of definitional differences (what counts as "abuse" vs "exploitation" vs "neglect") and reporting framework. The figure most often cited in clinical and advocacy contexts is approximately 2-5% experiencing financial abuse in any given year, with much higher lifetime prevalence. Most of it is never reported. And most of it is perpetrated not by strangers, but by family members.

That last point is the one people find hardest to absorb. The expectation that family will look out for an older relative is deeply held, and the reality that adult children, spouses, siblings, and grandchildren are the most common perpetrators of financial abuse against older people cuts across that expectation. Acknowledging this plainly — not to stigmatise families, but to help both older people and their families recognise what to watch for — is the starting point for any meaningful response.

What forms does elder financial abuse take?

Elder financial abuse covers a wide range of conduct. At one end, it includes outright fraud and theft: funds taken directly from bank accounts, assets transferred without consent, forged documents. At the other end, it includes subtler patterns that are harder to identify: substantial "loans" or "gifts" that the older person did not freely choose to make, or was not fully aware of making; joint accounts opened ostensibly for convenience but used as personal accounts by the younger family member; living arrangement changes — a granny flat arrangement, a home transfer — that benefit the family member disproportionately without proper protection for the older person; and pressure on an older relative to change their will, beneficiary nominations, or enduring power of attorney (EPOA) in a family member's favour. External scams — romance scams, investment scams, the "Hi Mum" text phishing pattern — also account for a significant share of elder financial losses, often in situations where the older person has become socially isolated.

What role do enduring powers of attorney play?

Powers of attorney are central to most elder financial abuse cases — both as a legitimate tool for managing affairs when a person loses capacity, and as the most common vector for misuse. An EPOA gives the appointed attorney substantial control over the older person's financial affairs, and that control can be exercised in the older person's interests or for the attorney's personal benefit. The difference is often not visible from the outside until significant damage has been done.

Best practice when setting up an EPOA is to do it early — while you are in good health and clearly have capacity — with specialist legal advice. Appointing multiple attorneys who must act jointly, or jointly and severally, provides a check that a single-attorney arrangement does not. Building in specific limitations (excluding certain types of transactions, for example) and requiring the attorney to account periodically to another person adds further protection. Before signing, the older person should be clear on exactly what the document authorises. A document signed under pressure, or without the older person fully understanding its scope, is not a reliable protection — and in abuse cases, it often becomes the instrument of the problem rather than the solution to it. State and territory EPOA regimes differ in their rules on who can be appointed, what an attorney can do, and how disputes are resolved; a solicitor experienced in elder law is the right person to guide this in any specific jurisdiction.

What are the warning signs worth acting on?

The warning signs of elder financial abuse fall into roughly three categories. For older people themselves, the signs include feeling pressured to make financial decisions you wouldn't otherwise make, finding that a family member insists on being present at financial or legal appointments, noticing unexplained transactions or transfers from your accounts, or experiencing a growing sense that you are losing control of your own affairs.

For family members and friends watching from the outside, the signs include a relative who has become unusually isolated from other family members, sudden and unexplained changes in living arrangements or financial position, a single family member who appears to control access to the older relative, or the older person becoming reluctant to discuss finances or refer to particular family members. For professionals — financial advisers, solicitors, accountants — the signs include a client who is always accompanied by a family member who answers questions on their behalf, a client who cannot explain recent transactions or changes to their accounts, sudden changes to nominations, wills, or property arrangements, and resistance to any private meeting between the professional and the client alone.

None of these signs is proof of abuse. But all of them warrant careful, quiet follow-up. For advisers, the most straightforward step is often the simplest: insisting on at least one meeting with the client alone, without family members present. That single step frequently surfaces information that would otherwise remain invisible.

What should you do if you suspect abuse is happening?

The Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) — opan.org.au — operates the national Aged Care Advocacy Line at 1800 700 600, available Monday to Friday 8am–8pm and Saturday 10am–4pm (OPAN, opan.org.au/get-support/, retrieved 5 May 2026). This line connects callers with aged care advocacy organisations in their state or territory. State and territory governments also operate their own elder abuse support services; the relevant state government website is the starting point for finding local services. Where the conduct is serious and potentially criminal — direct theft, fraud, systematic asset stripping — involving the police is appropriate. Tribunal applications through state-based administrative tribunals (NCAT in New South Wales, VCAT in Victoria, QCAT in Queensland, and equivalent bodies in other states) can address disputes about POA decisions and order recovery of misused funds. Legal aid services in most states also provide access to legal advice for older people facing financial issues.

Recovery through legal or tribunal channels is often partial. Funds that have been spent cannot be recovered. Assets transferred to third parties are difficult and expensive to pursue. The legal and tribunal processes themselves take time and can be stressful for an older person who may already be in a vulnerable position. This is why prevention — sound arrangements set up while still well, with independent oversight built in — is vastly more effective than recovery efforts after the fact.

What do good preventive arrangements look like?

The core elements of protection are straightforward, though they require the conversations that many families avoid. An EPOA, a will, binding death benefit nominations (BDBNs), and beneficiary nominations across all financial accounts and super funds should all be in place, prepared with specialist legal advice, while the older person is in good health and clearly has decision-making capacity. Multiple trusted people — not just one family member — should be aware of the older person's wishes and have at least general knowledge of their financial position. A financial adviser, accountant, and solicitor who each have an ongoing relationship with the older person and would notice unusual patterns of activity provide an important professional safety net. Substantial transfers to family members — gifts, loans, granny flat arrangements, home transfers — should always be the subject of independent legal and financial advice before they proceed, not after.

Family conversations about an older relative's wishes and resources are uncomfortable, and many families defer them until a crisis forces the issue. The crisis is usually worse than the conversation would have been.