Pioneered by the state’s government and Bankwest, the state-first roundtable saw representatives from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ attend discussions to share best practice strategies towards preventing the “growing issue”.

A statement from the state’s minister for seniors and ageing, the Hon Mick Murray, said that while there are a number of types of elder abuse, it most frequently takes the form of financial abuse involving the misuse or theft of an older person’s money or assets by people known to them.

The discussion focused on raising awareness of financial abuse as a form of elder abuse, exploring options for approaching financial abuse and sharing best practice, as well as establishing individual commitments that financial institutions could then take back to their organisations.

Mr Murray outlined that “older people must be able to feel safe, respected and valued in their communities”.

“I am delighted with Bankwest’s leadership in engaging the financial services sector to reduce instances of financial elder abuse and create broader public awareness of the issue,” he continued.

“The representation of over 40 members of the financial and community services sectors, including the ‘big four’ banks at today’s event, shows the strong commitment by industry and government to work together to combat financial elder abuse.

“Elder abuse is not just an issue for older people; it affects us all.”

He said he is looking forward to “the co-ordinated response arising from today’s roundtable to protect vulnerable older people and prevent occurrences of financial elder abuse through evidence-based early intervention”.

Bankwest’s executive general manager, Sinead Taylor, called the event “a fantastic opportunity to bring together a large and influential group of government, business and community leaders to explore new ways to support and protect customers from the growing scourge of financial elder abuse”.

“While Bankwest does all it can to identify and stop suspected incidents of financial elder abuse, real, sustainable change requires all the concerned stakeholders to work together to help prevent the occurrence of abuse and protect our more senior citizens from unscrupulous fraudsters and scammers,” Ms Taylor said.