Financial support for victims of domestic abuse

Support services for victims of domestic violence

You can speak to someone about government domestic violence support services by calling Centrelink on 132 850.

The Australian government offers a range of financial assistance and other support services for victims of domestic violence.

• Income support payments
• Crisis payments
• Exemptions from "seeking employment" welfare requirements
• Assistance collecting child support

You may be eligible for government support if:

• You have had to leave your home due to violence
• You are in a financial hardship situation resulting from domestic abuse
• You are unable to look for work as a result of the temporary or permanent injuries or illness resulting from domestic violence
• Applying for child support would put you or your family's safety at risk
• Another adult or child needs to be removed from or added to a Medicare card

You are also able to access the services of government social workers. They can provide:

• Short-term counselling and support
• Information about available government and community support services
• Support if you are having difficulties meeting the requirements of these services

If you need to leave your home quickly, you can apply for a one-off crisi payment from Centrelink by following these steps.

Community and government assistance programs

1800RESPECT

This is the national family violence and sexual assault counselling service. Operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you can call 1800 737 732 to access free and confidential professional counselling services.

Kids help line

If you're aged 5 to 25 you can call 1800 55 1800 for a confidential and private counselling service specifically for young people.

Daisy app

This app is created by 1800RESPECT and is able to connect you to helpful services in your local area, including legal, housing, financial and children's services. It explains what to expect when you get in touch with different services.

Lifeline

Call 131 114 any time for domestic violence crisis support.

MensLine

Men are also victims of domestic violence, and can call 1300 789 978 for family and domestic abuse support.

White Ribbon

You can find a more complete list of national and state-based support and assistance programs at White Ribbon.

Financial Counselling Australia

You can call 1800 007 007 to access free resources and advice from a private financial counsellor.

Financial challenges faced by survivors of domestic abuse

Victims and survivors of domestic violence often face a range of financial difficulties, both before and after leaving a relationship.

Problem: Coerced debt (or forced debt)

An abuser might take out a credit card in their partner’s name and rack up large debts on it, or take out a home loan or other financing in their partner’s name. This is even easier if you still have joint accounts. The victim may have been coerced into it, or might not even know that it happened until a collections agency comes for the money. This can have the added effect of damaging a survivor’s credit score, making it even harder for them to find housing or employment, buy a car or secure financing later.

Problem: Limited access to money

A financially abusive partner may have taken control of all economic aspects of the relationship, which can be difficult to get back after separation. It's important to make sure you have access to enough money to pay for day-to-day living expenses.

Problem: Housing difficulties

Finding safe and affordable housing is one of the biggest challenges facing survivors. In many cases they will not have a rental history, or will be burdened with coerced debt.

What does psychological and financial abuse look like?

An abusive relationship doesn’t always start off that way. It can sometimes be difficult to tell when one’s partner is being abusive. Similarly, it can also be hard to tell when someone you know might be in a violent relationship.

This is particularly true of financial and psychological abuse. These are just as much domestic violence as physical assault is, and can be equally relevant indicators that a relationship has broken down.

What is economic abuse?

Some examples of economic abuse are:

• Forcing a person to give up control of their assets or income
• Claiming someone else’s social security payments or other payments against their wishes
• Making someone sign over control of their finances or assets
• Forcing a person to take on debt or sign any other type of financial contract against their wishes
• Preventing someone from keeping a job, such as by threatening them or deliberately getting them fired, or preventing someone from looking for work
• Removing, keeping, disposing of, preventing access to or otherwise messing with their partner’s property, whether it’s money or anything else, without consent
• Not giving someone access to joint or family income (or their own income) meaning they're unable to make any purchases without requesting

If a partner is doing any of these it may qualify as domestic violence. Note that economic abuse is not exclusive to couples.

What is the definition of psychological or emotional abuse?

Psychological and emotional abuse may include behaviours like:

• Stalking someone, either by following them or hanging around places they know the victim will go
• Repeatedly contacting someone against their wishes, regardless of how threatening or non-threatening the contact is
• Repeatedly taunting or insulting someone, including comments around ethnicity, sexuality or anything else
• Blackmail, including threatening to disclose information about a person to their friends or family without consent
• Threatening to withhold someone’s medication
• Stopping a person from making or keeping connections with their friends or family, or their culture or religion

Written by

Andrew Munro

Editor

Andrew Munro was the global cryptocurrency editor at Finder. During his time he covered all aspects of cryptocurrency and the blockchain. Before he became cryptocurrency editor, he was a content writer for Finder covering various topics over his nearly 5 years in the role. Prior to joining Finder he was a web copywriter. Andrew has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales. See full bio

Co-written by

Alison Banney

Editor

Alison Banney is the money editorial manager at Finder. She covers all areas of personal finance, and her areas of expertise are superannuation, banking and saving. She has written about finance for 10 years, having previously worked at Westpac and written for several other major banks and super funds. See full bio

Alison's expertise

Alison has written 625 Finder guides across topics including:

• Superannuation
• Savings accounts, bank accounts and term deposits
• Budgeting and money-saving hacks
• Managing the cost of living