The Australian Banking Association acknowledges the release today of the inquiry report into the Financial Services Regulatory Framework in Relation to Financial Abuse.
CEO Anna Bligh said the ABA and its member banks acknowledge the important work of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services to further shine a light on financial abuse.
“Financial abuse is an issue that banks and their staff are confronted with every single day. This could be in the context of family and domestic violence or abuse involving older Australians or people with a disability,” Ms Bligh said.
“Significant inroads have been made across the industry over the last decade to better prevent, identify and support customers impacted by financial abuse.
“Banks have a range of support options available to help victim-survivors escape abuse and recover, including assisting them to open new accounts, deal with joint accounts, provide advice on financial hardship or refer them to extra support services.
“Australian banks are also taking world-leading action to make banking products safer by ensuring terms and conditions are abundantly clear that financial abuse won’t be tolerated and could lead to account suspensions or closures.
“The ABA particularly welcomes overdue recommendations to amend the Privacy Act to allow financial institutions to better flag financial abuse as well as ensuring there is more consistency across states in relation to enduring power of attorney laws.”
