Retirement villages are receiving reports from residents of abuse by adult children. NSW operators must have an Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy in place – and the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission has the ability to investigate reports and educate village staff.

Retirement Village Managers are struggling to deal with elder abuse, often financial abuse by adult children, in their villages – prevention and early intervention is key.

This article is part of a special four-part SATURDAY project on elder abuse – look out for the final instalment looking at how the Department of Fair Trading is auditing the requirement for NSW village operators to have an Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy.

One village operator, who requested anonymity, said their Village Managers are reporting residents approaching them with evidence of financial abuse.

“They will say, ‘My son is getting divorced and wants more money, I feel so bad for him’ – the list goes on,” they said.

“Or they will show them their accounts and they have been cleaned out by someone – in one case, the resident was having $10,000 taken out of their account every month.”

Financial abuse can look like:

• helping an older person to set-up internet banking and then using the access details to obtain funds

• taking control of the person’s finances against their wishes and denying access to their own money

• abusing Powers of Attorney for personal gain

• stealing goods, for example jewellery, credit cards, cash, food, and other possessions.

This is an extremely stressful situation not only for the residents but also for the Village Managers.

“The Village Managers build relationships with the residents,” said the operator.

“The residents trust them, and then the residents feel completely vulnerable to their children. They don’t know how to handle it.”

How can operators ensure that staff are equipped to address these situations?

NSW village operators are required to have an Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy in place

The key is early intervention and prevention.

Under Rule 10 of the Rules of Conduct, NSW village operators are required to have an Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy, including examples of common forms of elder abuse and information on how to identify and respond to elder abuse including procedures for escalating issues to other organisations.

But not all villages have their policies in place.

As we reported in our last issue, the outgoing Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald AM told SATURDAY that operators must put in strategies to reduce the risk of elder abuse so if there is a likelihood of harm, staff can act quickly and appropriately.

The NSW Ageing and Disability Commission (ADC) has a Helpline that anyone, including Village Managers, residents or staff, can contact for information, support or to report suspected abuse on 1800 628 221 (Mon-Fri, 9-4pm).

Ageing and Disability Commission can respond to allegations quickly

Laurelle Lawson is the Founding Director and Principal of Australian Retirement Partners, which manages a number of retirement villages in NSW – she rates the Helpline highly.

Recently one of its villages experienced a case of physical elder abuse that they were unaware of.

“They had a son who was living with them,” she told SATURDAY. “The carer had to call an ambulance and the ambulance reported it to the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission. They were onto the report straightaway and handled it very efficiently and effectively.”

As part of their Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy, village operators are also obligated to review their policy every two years.

This is an ideal time to ensure that policies are updated so that Village Managers and head office staff can improve how they respond to reports of elder abuse, said Laurelle.

Investment in training around elder abuse is critical

Investing in further training around elder abuse for village staff is also important.

Annette Smith, Quality & Code Compliance Officer for Seniors Services at retirement living and aged care Uniting NSW.ACT, assisted in the development of its Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy for its 75 retirement villages, which was first introduced in 2019 and rolled out over three months.

“Face-to-face training of staff was provided, and this is also ongoing,” said Annette.

“It was an important part in the initial rolling out of the Strategy to emphasise the importance of Uniting’s commitment in preventing, identifying and responding appropriately to the abuse and neglect of older people.”

NSW Ageing and Disability Commission offers free e-Learning modules on elder abuse

The NSW Ageing and Disability Commission also delivers free e-Learning modules to provide staff with information and guidance to identify and respond to abuse.

Module One is aimed at support staff, volunteers and community members and includes case studies and advice on having conversations about abuse and reporting concerns to managers.

This is ideal for all staff, as a regular refresher, as well as new starters.

Module Two is designed for head office staff who develop and review staff policies and procedures.

In addition, the DCM Institute has developed an online training module specifically on Elder Abuse. Backed up by policies and procedures, this resource is regularly accessed by participants in their professional development program, which sits at over 550 Village Professionals across the country.

Residents need to be kept updated on Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy

Under Rule 10, village operators also need to keep residents up to date on their Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy, with operators required to place the Strategy on village noticeboards.

At Uniting, any amendments to the Strategy are relayed to residents through a variety of communication channels including noticeboards, newsletters and email.

Residents are also provided with a copy of the Strategy on request.

“Every provider is responsible for ensuring they have an Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy in place for their own retirement villages and it is an ongoing process that isn’t just set and forget,” said Annette.

The NSW Commission has developed a 24-page guide for village operators to meet Rule 10 which you can download from their website here.

You can also contact the NSW Ageing and Disability Abuse Helpline on 1800 628 221 (Mon-Fri, 9-4pm) for information, support or to make a report. Anyone can call, and you can be anonymous.