AFCA has published its updated Approach to family violence and Approach to financial abuse of older people.

AFCA’s new Approach to family violence will replace AFCA’s existing Approach to joint accounts and family violence.

AFCA’s new Approach to financial abuse of older people will replace the superseded Approach to financial elder abuse.

The new Approaches cover all product and service areas, including insurance, superannuation, and investments and advice complaints, with a series of case studies and examples.

The Approaches include early warning signs.

Family violence

AFCA expects financial firms to handle disclosures of family violence sensitively and to
offer flexible support options

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) defines family violence as:
“…violent, threatening or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person’s family (the family member), or causes the family member to be fearful.”

Family violence impact does not necessarily end when the relationship does. In some cases, it can begin or escalate after the relationship has ended.

Family violence refers to both intimate partner violence and violence between family members.

This includes (but is not limited to):

• physical, psychological, sexual and emotional abuse
• coercive control
• financial abuse
• parental or elder abuse.

Financial abuse in a family violence context can involve:

• forcing someone to go into debt
• making all the key financial decisions in a relationship
• restricting access to funds, compelling victim-survivors to borrow money as a means of survival or not for their benefit
• withholding child support
• opening accounts or applying for products in the other customer’s name without their knowledge or consent
• spending joint funds without the other customer’s knowledge or consent
• using joint assets and debts to control someone for example, restricting their financial autonomy and thereby preventing them from leaving an abusive relationship
• using company assets or creating debt without authority
• creating a company, appointing directors and forcing or manipulating someone to guarantee company debts.

Abuse of older people

In complaints involving financial abuse of an older person, AFCA considers whether the financial firm missed signs of abuse and should have taken steps to reduce or prevent loss.

Financial abuse of older people is described by the Australian Human Rights Commission as ‘the misuse or theft of an older person’s money or assets’ and can include:

• criminal acts such as fraud, theft, or deception
• unlawful conduct such as unconscionable behaviour under general or statutory
  law, or
• improper conduct, which, while not necessarily illegal or intentionally malicious,
  includes acts such as intimidation, deceit, coercion, manipulation, undue influence,
  or empty promises.

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