8 May 2014
NZACA Welcomes Labours Support for Aged Care Commissioner
The New Zealand Aged Care Association (NZACA) welcomes today’s announcement by Labour to support the establishment of an
Aged Care Commissioner to look into elderly financial abuse.
Financial Elder abuse can take many forms. It might be someone having their superannuation stolen or their house being
sold with the proceeds being taken by someone with EPOA. Or it could be a lawyer charging high fees to manage someone’s
affairs through to having a credit card used without the elderly person’s knowledge.
“With sad regularity my members come to me with situations where they know their residents are being financially abused
by the person who holds the Enduring Powers of Attorney. But there is nothing they can do other than raise it with the
perpetrator or possibly take it through the courts at great expense in time and money,” said Martin Taylor, NZACA Chief
Executive.