Reports of elder abuse appear to have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

UnitingCare Queensland has released data showing an increase in reported abuse of victims aged 50 years and older through the state government-funded Elder Abuse Prevention Unit helpline in 2020-2021.

The helpline took 2,022 abuse notification calls over the period - its highest yearly total since data collection began 20 years ago.

In 80 per cent of cases, the perpetrator was a person in a close or intimate relationship with the victim. In two-thirds of cases, the victim and perpetrator were living together.

Psychological abuse was the most commonly reported, emerging in 72.9 per cent of calls. Financial and social abuse was reported in 62.6 per cent and 28 per cent of call, respectively.

Psychological abuse typically took the form of pressuring, shouting, and degrading victims.

Almost a third of financial abuse reports included undue influence, while misuse of an executive power of attorney was reported in 18.6 per cent of cases.

Victims often reported experiencing numerous types of abuse at once.

UnitingCare's wellbeing services general manager Luke Lindsay alleged perpetrators were often adult children or grandchildren that had become “fatigued”.

“So there is an escalation in psychological abuse and the way in which they treat their parents or their grandparents, so it's really concerning,” Mr Lindsay said.

“But we have seen a really close association, particularly with psychological and financial abuse in the context of the changing COVID-19 landscape particularly with adults, children and grandchildren having to move back home or move in with their parents or grandparents.

“Against a backdrop of a worsening housing situation in Queensland, compounded by COVID-19, there is a very real risk for the largely invisible issue of elder abuse to grow as more adult children move in with their parents to save money or secure housing.

“What we know from the data is this doesn't always end up working, leading to higher rates of elder abuse, and in some cases homelessness.”