It would have gone unnoticed by most people who aren't advocates for older Australians, but a 2021 government report delivered the disturbing news that around 83,000 of us aged 65 and over had been the victims of financial abuse over the previous 12 months. 

Since then the problem of financial elder abuse has only gotten worse – probably a lot worse. 

Financial abuse is a subset of elder abuse in general, which includes even less palatable kinds, such as physical abuse. But, after psychological abuse and neglect, it's the most common variety – and the psychological abuse often has a financial motive. 

One way it's perpetrated is when a son or daughter obtains power of attorney over a parent's finances and helps themselves to assets they're not entitled to. 

Sometimes abusers find a way to take over the family home so it can't be sold before the parent dies, even though the parent may need the money for aged care

Other forms of financial elder abuse include coercing parents into changing their will in the perpetrator's favour.

Sometimes abusers find a way to take over the family home so it can't be sold before the parent dies, even though the parent may need the money for aged care. All of these acts would generally come under the heading 'inheritance impatience'. 

But then there's pressuring a parent into loaning or giving you money, or taking it without permission, which are yet other forms of financial elder abuse.

One in six a victim of elder abuse 

While such conduct takes place behind closed doors in intimate family settings, there are clear signs that financial elder abuse is on the rise. 

Reports of abuse to the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission went up 22% between April and June this year compared to the same period in 2023. Taken together, the interrelated issues of psychological and financial abuse comprised 66% of the complaints. 

Between July 2019 and June 2024, reports of abuse to the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission went up 55%. Nationally, it's estimated that about 15% of Australians aged 65 and older experience some form of elder abuse, and a lot of this would be financial abuse. 

Most of the perpetrators are the adult children of the victims. And most often, the research suggests, it's a son financially abusing their mother.

It's not a happy subject, or an easy one to dredge to the surface. It's personal, it's familial, and people would rather not talk about it or reach out for help. But it needs to be put on view for all to see, advocates for senior Australians say.

The family home is often front and centre in cases of financial abuse.

A hidden issue

One of these advocates is Relationships Australia CEO Elisabeth Shaw, whose organisation has been closely involved in the continuing effort to roll back elder abuse in general and financial elder abuse in particular. The organisation regularly hears from victims or their carers from around the country. 

Reports of financial elder abuse are definitely on the rise, Shaw tells CHOICE, "but a lot of people we hear from would not be wanting any kind of intervention," she explains. 

"It's definitely going on more than we know. At this life stage people are just so vulnerable and frightened of falling out with their children and having grandchildren taken away from them and being lonely. They're scared to speak up." 

Based on the contacts Relationships Australia receives from affected elders and their carers, they say the family home is often a target for adult children perpetrators, especially after they've moved back in. 

At this life stage people are just so vulnerable and frightened of falling out with their children and having grandchildren taken away from them and being lonely

Relationships Australia CEO Elisabeth Shaw

"They're actively coercing the older person to either will the house to them or let them take it over. So that's one example of where psychological and financial abuse meet." 

The fallout from the COVID pandemic along with housing costs and shortages has accelerated this phenomenon, Shaw says. "Adult children moved back into the family home, ostensibly to look after their parents. But some have never left and have sort of taken over the home. Children are leaning on parents in a way that hasn't been seen in previous generations." 

Financial elder abuse can also just mean having control of a parent's credit card and using it to buy things for yourself when expenditures on the card are supposed to be for the parent only. 

"It's something that happens on a day-to-day domestic level, which can actually drain a bank account quite quickly," Shaw says.

'Ending up homeless'

CEO of the advocacy group Older Women's Network, Yumi Lee, agrees the family home is often front and centre in cases of financial abuse. 

"The pressures on older people are great to either sell up and give part proceeds to their children so they can have the downpayment for a home, or to hand over the entire proceeds on the promise that they can live in the 'granny flat' behind the new home. Sadly, we have seen relationships breaking down and older women being turfed out of the family home and ending up homeless." 

Lee says the organisation also sees many cases of adult children misusing powers of attorney "to hoover up their mothers' assets and savings", but it mostly goes unreported because "mothers do not want to report their children to the police". 

'Victims dependent on their abusers' 

Mary Lovelock, a senior solicitor at NSW Legal Aid's Elder Abuse Service, tells CHOICE that the reluctance to break the silence follows a grimly practical logic. 

Sadly, we have seen relationships breaking down and older women being turfed out of the family home and ending up homeless

Older Women's Network CEO Yumi Lee

"The older person is often dependent on the abuser, who may be acting as their carer. This means speaking out may result in a loss of support and independence, and could damage relationships within a family." 

It's also not unusual, Lovelock says, for victims to be unaware of the financial manipulations of perpetrators, especially if they change the victim's banking details and siphon off funds gradually. 

Most perpetrators of financial elder abuse are the adult children of the victim.

New 'Elder Law' program aiming to increase expertise

The human touchpoints in a financial elder abuse scenario, other than perpetrators and victims, include people in the financial services and legal sectors. Both offer professional guidelines on how to spot and deal with elder financial abuse – and how to prevent it. 

How well these sectors are doing in this area is another question. Lovelock says most banks have some protections in place, but the process of modern banking itself poses a risk for older Australians.  

"A large cohort have experienced financial elder abuse as a result of their child transitioning the older person's banking to online and not giving the older person online access to the account," Lovelock says. 

Even without such outright deceptions, the forced transition to online banking in general has increased the risk of financial elder abuse, and safer options are being rapidly phased out, she adds.  

A government inquiry is currently underway into whether the regulation of financial services is effectively dealing with the issue of elder financial abuse, with a final report due at the end of the year. 

A large cohort have experienced financial elder abuse as a result of their child transitioning the older person's banking to online and not giving the older person online access to the account

Mary Lovelock, senior solicitor at NSW Legal Aid's Elder Abuse Service

And there are other moves afoot. Earlier this year the Law Society of NSW established a specialist accreditation program in Elder Law, a branch that focuses on legal issues commonly faced by older Australians. The aim of the new program is to increase the number of legal professionals with expertise in this area and make it easier for elderly people and their carers to find them. 

Understanding the highly personal subtleties of elder financial abuse will be part of the curriculum, NSW Law Society president Brett McGrath tells CHOICE. 

"Issues relating to elder abuse have become more prominent in recent years, and lawyers can play a crucial role," McGrath says, adding that "greater public awareness of the issue may help to reduce its prevalence". 

The accreditation is designed to equip lawyers with the knowledge to advise on powers of attorney matters as well as the delicate issue of allowing others to make major life decisions for you, including financial ones. 

Greater public awareness of the issue may help to reduce its prevalence

NSW Law Society president Brett McGrath

Lovelock says a greater understanding of the rules governing powers of attorney among the people given such powers is one of the missing pieces in preventing financial abuse. 

"Unfortunately we regularly help clients who have had large amounts stolen from their bank accounts as a result of the misuse of a power of attorney," Lovelock says. 

Yumi Lee says one fundamental problem is that powers of attorney work differently from state to state, which adds confusion. In her view, a nationwide system is long overdue. She says the damage wrought from misuse of these legal instruments can destroy families. 

Abuse often the result of poor planning and communication

With such sensitive issues at play, and a general misunderstanding of what the rules are, Elisabeth Shaw agrees that getting legal help early on is a good idea. 

The research suggests that financial elder abuse is often an outgrowth of poor planning by both parents and their children and isn't necessarily malevolent in nature, just a series of bad decisions that are rationalised by the perpetrators.

Adult children under financial pressure end up taking money they shouldn't because the parents or a trustworthy carer haven't put safeguards in place to cordon off such temptations. Informal family agreements – such as the promise of care in exchange for early access to a parent's assets – often fall by the wayside. 

"I think social awareness is really difficult. People entering old age are under-prepared and under-resourced. A lot of people just aren't informed about the sort of steps that they should be taking. We're not having the conversations that we need to have about getting older." 

Yumi Lee has seen what happens when necessary conversations don't happen and family bonds break down due to the perverse power of money, and she says the impacts can't be overstated. 

A lot of people just aren't informed about the sort of steps that they should be taking

Relationships Australia CEO Elisabeth Shaw

"It is especially tragic to hear of older women who have worked all their lives to support their family, only to have their children turn against them. It can become a war between siblings with some children feeling totally powerless to stop the abuse being perpetrated by their sister or brother." 

Who to contact if you see financial elder abuse

• National Elder Abuse phone line (1800 353 374)
• Relationships Australia (1300 364 277)
• NSW Ageing and Disability Abuse Helpline (1800 628 221) 
• Senior Rights Victoria (1300 368 821)
• Queensland: Elder Abuse Helpline (1300 651 192)
• Western Australia: Advocare WA Elder Abuse Helpline (1300 724 679) 
• South Australia: Adult Safeguarding Unit (1800 372 310)
• Northern Territories: National Elder Abuse phone line (1800 353 374)
• Tasmanian Elder Abuse Helpline (1800 441 169)
• ACT: National Elder Abuse phone line (1800 353 374)

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.

Join the conversation

To share your thoughts or ask a question, visit the CHOICE Community forum.

Visit CHOICE Community