BackA woman whose life possessions were sent to the tip, an elderly man who had over $2,000 taken from his account to pay for someone else’s fines, and a person whose file was handled by up to 48 different staff in 14 months.
These are among the cases reviewed as part of Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass’s Investigation into State Trustees, tabled in the Victorian Parliament this morning.
Ms Glass found State Trustees had failed some of the most vulnerable people in Victoria. The agency manages the finances of around 10,000 Victorians who are unable to look after their own affairs due to disability, illness or injury.
She said the investigation heard about multiple cases where State Trustees had:
failed to ensure client’s bills, expenses and aged care bonds were paid on time
reduced clients’ quality of life by placing them on restricted budgets, when they had entitlements that could have been claimed
neglected to consult clients regarding their wishes for their finances.
“At the heart of these issues is an overwhelming sense of powerlessness,” Ms Glass said. “The indignity of having to request money for a haircut to supplement a meagre allowance. The humiliation of going to the bank to collect your pension, only to find the money is no longer there.
“I acknowledge that many State Trustees staff are trying to do the right thing in what can be very challenging circumstances, and that the Ombudsman rarely sees the instances when clients are satisfied.
But the evidence of dissatisfaction, directly impacting on State Trustee clients’ quality of life, is too substantial to be treated as other than systemic.”
Ms Glass said State Trustees, as a state-owned company whose sole shareholder is the Treasurer, operates in a commercial environment where there is pressure to reduce costs.
“While we found no evidence of individual decisions being made for commercial reasons, there is evidence of commercial pressures limiting its service as a whole,” she said.
Read the full media release: www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/state-trustees-failed-vulnerable-people
or the full Ombudsman's report: www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/state-trustees
Source: Victorian Ombudsman, Australia
