Submission to The Attorney-General: The 2026 Mandate on Elder Abuse

Sapience Financial has submitted a formal response to the Department of Social Services and the Attorney-General's Department, regarding the National Plan to End the Abuse and Mistreatment of Older People 2026-2036.

We argue that the current state-and-territory-based Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA) frameworks are no longer fit for purpose to handle the looming intergenerational wealth transfer. The existing system focuses too heavily on forensic theft and overt acts of mistreatment, remaining completely blind to the subtle, early stages of 'financial grooming' and 'Inheritance Impatience' occurring within Australian families.

• To address this critical structural defect, our submission calls for a 'manual override' of the government's 10-year timeline, accelerating action to a 2026 mandate focused on primary prevention.
• A central pillar of this mandate is the urgent deployment of a National Online Register for all Enduring Documents.
• Modeled off existing platforms like PEXA, this secure database would eliminate the current jurisdictional lottery and provide banks and medical professionals with real-time validation to stop 'The Predator on the Couch' in their tracks.

Furthermore, we advocate for the implementation of Mandatory Forensic Screening, which would legislate professionals - such as financial advisers, lawyers, and bankers - as mandatory interveners required to ask prescribed ;awkward questions' in private consultations.

We must also move away from generic EPOA templates and undocumented 'Bank of Mum and Dad' handshake agreements. By introducing deliberate 'Friction by Design' and high-tensile registered documents, we can document family loans to neutralise the 'Presumption of Advancement' and create a definitive forensic shield against structural theft.

Sapience has made a formal submission to the Government's Attorney General about this report.

• advocacy