Can you prove who you are?

Since the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing reforms were introduced in September 2009, it has become essential that people seeking access to financial, aged care, government and social services are able to prove their identity.

To get an Age Pension or other benefit from Centrelink or the Department of Veterans Affairs a person has to be able to prove their identity.

To get access to some financial products for financial planning, access to a reverse mortgage or admission to aged care facilities, a person also has to prove their identity.

But what if you can’t prove your identity, especially if you are elderly and increasingly frail?

The identification requirements vary depending upon the purpose and for whom the ID is required. For elderly people, identification can sometimes be problematic.

Imagine an 85 year old self funded retiree who has no interaction with or receives no benefits from Centrelink; who hasn’t had a car licence for the last 4 years; who hasn’t ever had a passport and who has lost their birth certificate from the rural town in Poland where they were born.

Imagine also if you are the Power of Attorney and that person is your mother who now has dementia or her memory is failing.

“It is important that people prepare for Aged Care ahead of time and especially have their documents proving their identity in order and easily accessible,” said Quentin Birchley, a financial planner at Lifetime Planning.

“Consequences of not doing so can be tragic as the need to enter an aged care facility often comes suddenly and with the family typically unprepared.”

Mr Birchley has identified a number of simple tasks that most people can undertake to prepare themselves. The tasks include:

Keep Passports up to date even if they are unlikely to be used again.

Keep Birth and Marriage Certificates safe and together where they are known to those responsible people in their lives.

If the Birth and Marriage Certificates have been lost, apply to the respective state Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages for replacements.

If possible, renew the Drivers Licence for the longest term before expiry.

Get a Copy or a Certificate to show Citizenship from the Australian Government’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

Lifetime Planning urges retirees and the families to ensure that papers and documents that prove identity are well organised and easily accessible.