Financial abuse is when someone:

• takes away your access to money
• controls your decisions about money
• uses your money without your consent.

Financial abuse is a type of domestic and family violence. It often happens alongside other types of violence, such as physical or emotional abuse. It can make you feel:

• at risk
• isolated
• depressed

It can also take away your independence by making you feel like you have to rely on the person who is being financially abusive. This is one of the most powerful tools that someone can use to keep you trapped in an abusive relationship.

Financial abuse can happen to anyone. Older people are more likely to experience financial abuse. This is because they often rely on other people to help them with financial tasks and decisions.

You can experience financial abuse from anyone. For example, they could be:

• your partner or ex-partner
• a family member or friend
• your carer.

Someone might control the money in your household. For example, they might not let you access your bank accounts.

Someone might make you go into debt. For example, they might:

• force you to spend your money
• pressure you to take out loans
• cause large amounts of debt on bank accounts that you share
• open loans and credit cards in your name
• spend lots of money on your credit card.

Someone might force you to:

• work in your family business without pay
• give them your government benefits – financial support you get from the government
• threaten to report you for cheating or misusing government benefits
• sign financial documents, such as life insurance.

Someone might:

• hide assets – things you own that are worth a lot of money, like property, shares and jewellery
• steal your identity, property or inheritance
• refuse to pay bills and negatively impact your credit rating
• file false insurance claims
• refinance your home or car without your consent – this means changing the type of loan that you have.

Economic abuse is also a type of domestic violence. But economic abuse is broader than financial abuse.

Economic abuse can include when someone:

• limits your access to things such as food, clothing and transport
• interferes with your access to resources to improve your economic status, such as employment or education.

Examples of economic abuse

Someone might:

• interfere with your opportunities to find work or keep a job
• order you not to work or attend job training
• refuse to work or contribute to the family income
• refuse to pay child support
• force you to lie
• make the property settlement process last longer than it needs to

not be honest about assets during the property settlement process.

You can contact a financial counsellor in your area who can support you to leave your partner.

You can also contact the National Debt Helpline.
Call 1800 007 007.

They will connect you with a specialised domestic and family violence financial counsellor.

Your credit report is a record of your credit history. It includes things like:

• your credit rating
• the credit products you have – things that your bank has agreed to lend you the money to buy
• your repayment history.

Credit providers look at your credit history to decide whether to give you credit or lend you money.

Some credit reporting agencies might give you your credit rating for free.

How to access your credit report

You can contact the credit reporting agencies below for your free credit report.

Equifax

Call 138 332

You can also find out more information on their website.

Experian

Call 1300 783 684

You can also find out more information on their website.

illion

Call 132 333

You can also find out more information on their website.

What to do if there is a mistake in your credit report

If you find a mistake in your credit report, you should follow the instructions the credit reporting agency provided with the report. The instructions will tell you how to fix the mistakes. You can report these mistakes to the agency by:

• calling the agency
• using the dispute portal when you get your credit report
• writing a letter or an email to the agency. You should include evidence of the mistakes.

If a debt collector contacts you, you must:

• be honest about your financial situation, including telling them if you have other debts
• reply in a timely way
• agree to a payment plan if you can afford it
• tell them if your contact details change.

If you don’t agree with your debt, you can dispute it.

For example, you can dispute your debt if:

• you haven’t accrued the debt – this means the debt hasn’t built up over a period of time

and

• the debt is because of financial abuse.

You can call a financial counsellor if you need support to dispute a debt.

Financial counsellors are qualified professionals. They can give you information and advice about what to do if you are experiencing financial difficulty. And they can support you to speak with certain people.
It is free to get support from a financial counsellor. Their services are non-judgmental, independent and private.
Financial counsellors are based in community organisations throughout Australia. For example, large charities, smaller community centres and local government agencies.

There are steps you can take to manage your money better. You can learn how to:

• look at your expenses and income
• create a budget
• find opportunities to save money
• understand your credit report
• assess your debt
• save money
• plan to pay tax.

You can find more information and free spreadsheets on the moneysmart website.

Financial Counsellors can:

• Suggest ways to improve your financial
  situation
• See if you are eligible for government assistance
• Negotiate repayment arrangements with your creditors
• Explain your options and their consequences,
  including debt recovery procedures,
  bankruptcy and other alternatives
• Help you apply for a hardship variation
• Help you organise your finances and do a budget
• Refer you to other services, e.g. a gambling helpline, family support, personal counselling, or community legal aid

They can also help with the
following problems:

• Debts that you are struggling to pay
• Threatening letters or harassment by debt collectors
• Debt recovery through the courts
• House eviction, disconnection of gas, electricity, phone etc.
• Uninsured car accidents, taxation debts and unpaid fines

1. Solve initial urgent issues (Disconnection from
electricity/gas, contacting creditors etc.)

• Check if client is receiving all eligible payments from Services Australia (apply for all payments like Parenting Payment, Jobseeker, Family TAX A/B etc.

2. Establish Income and Expenditure on a
weekly/fortnightly basis, explain options and discuss/set up to-do list

• Applying for concessions with utility providers
• Set up Centrepay for better budgeting (all fortnightly payments/Bill Smoothing payments/Hardship payments)
• Help preparing a budget

3. Access to money

• Applying for HEEAS (Home Electricity Emergency Assisting Scheme)
• Assisting with Department of Housing Application or Application for Bond Loan and Rental Grant
• Discuss with client options to get hands on money like Centrelink Advance, hardship payout through Superannuation, NILS loans (no interest loans) up to $5000
• Discuss bank accounts and apply for grants/assistance which is offered from the banks to help people experiencing DV
• Referral to Bright Star, RizeUp, Zephyr, CWA, The Smith Family etc.

4. Debts

• Explaining options regarding hardship, apply for moratorium if client has debts with creditors and utility providers
• Contact Electricity/Gas/Water/Rates/Phone/Internet provider and arrange hardship payments, negotiating waivers
• Contact Bank/Mortgage/Credit Card provider and arrange moratorium or hardship payments, negotiating waivers
• Contacting various Ombudsman organisations if IDR (Internal Dispute Resolution) failed
• Discussing and assisting with options like Debt Agreements and Bankruptcy and applying to the National Hardship Register
• Assisting with SPER debt – Cancellation of Enforcement and Work Development Order
• Assisting with Tax Debts – Application for Release Apply for Equifax credit report to check for fraud applications by perpetrator
• Contacting utility providers and getting electricity connected even with ‘bad’ credit rating

5. Compensation/Victims Compensation

• Application for Victims Assist Queensland
• Applying for ‘Escaping Domestic Violence’ grant

6. Exit Planning

• Complete an Income and Expenditure and develop a “future’ budget to inform woman regarding her finances
• Explain Government payments and Child Support, Child support estimator and eligible Government payments like Parenting Payment, Family Tax, Child Care Subsidy, Rent Assistance, Carers Payment, Disability Payment, Youth Allowance or Carers Allowance, helping to fill out forms and organising supporting documents
• Helping with possible study options, in ‘Skills for Queensland’ to prepare for the exit and earning her own money

Co-produced by North Queensland Women’s Legal Service Queensland (NQWLS). Visit their website.

What is coercive control?

Coercive control is, a pattern of behaviour  aimed at dominating or controlling another, and which has the effect of trapping and isolating victim-survivors.

Why is it important to understand?

• It is common.
• It is not widely recognised in the community as domestic violence.
• It is not easy for victim-survivors to articulate what is happening or to show injuries (unlike if there is physical violence).
• It is a risk factor for homicide.
• It causes significant harm even after separation

There have been many definitions of coercive control.

As of 1 August 2023, the Queensland law (Domestic and Family Protection Act 2012 (Qld)) seeks to address coercive control by defining domestic violence to include “a pattern of behaviour” that “may occur over a period of time” and may include multiple acts which “when considered cumulatively is abusive, threatening, coercive or causes fear” and is considered looking at the whole context of a relationship.

Coercive control is usually perpetrated by an intimate partner but may also be perpetrated by a family member.

Coercive control can be experienced by anyone. One Australian study found that, amongst the women surveyed, those who identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander; culturally and linguistically diverse; or had a long-term health condition were more likely to report experiencing coercive control.

A list of examples of behaviours is provided below. It is important to understand that the context of the behaviour is important when considering what coercive control looks like. Behaviour which may seem harmless to an observer, may feel controlling, coercive or abusive to the victim-survivor because of the context the behaviour is experienced in.

Coercive control generally escalates over time. There may be an intense period of attention and courtship followed by gradual increases of controlling behaviour in both severity and frequency over time.

It may include an incident of physical violence but not always.

It may include any combination of the below behaviour:

• Threats (explicit threats to harm the victim-survivor or their children, warnings to the victim-survivor about the perpetrator’s capacity to harm).
• Belittling, degradation or humiliation.
• Menacing or intimidatory behaviour or gestures directed strategically at the victim-survivor including angry verbal outbursts, staring, silence, ignoring, withdrawal of affection.
• Monitoring, stalking or surveillance via mobile phone technologies.
• Sexual coercion, including unwanted or forced sex, being made to feel guilty for saying no, denying choice in contraception, forced abortion.
• Preventing a person from making or keeping connections with their family, friends or culture, including cultural or spiritual ceremonies or practices, or preventing the person from expressing the person’s cultural identity.
• Sleep deprivation.
• Jealousy, or accusations of cheating.
• Isolating the victim-survivor from friends, family, and/or support systems, and sabotaging social outings. Restricting the victim-survivor from leaving the residence.
• Controlling the victim-survivor’s appearance or clothing choices.
• Threatening to spread rumours of mental illness or otherwise humiliate the victim-survivor.
• Requirements to answer calls from the perpetrator for monitoring purposes.
• Strangulation, choking or pinning up against a wall by the neck.
• Restricting access to finances, or monitoring of finances or spending.
• Coercing the victim-survivor to sign a power of attorney, contract for finance, loan, credit card or guarantee.
• Restricting the use of a car or phone.
• Restricting the victim-survivor from pursuing education or job opportunities.
• Restrictions and rigid rules about where the victim-survivor can eat or sleep.
• Threats or warnings to cancel a spouse visa or deportation.
• Threats or warnings of harm to extended family members.
• Threats or warnings to tell community members sensitive information about the victim-survivor.
• Threat of suicide or self-harm.
• Causing or threatening to cause the death of, or injury to, a pet.
• Damaging or threatening to damage a person’s property as a means of control.

The victim-survivor may report feeling like they are:

• Under constant pressure
• Walking on eggshells
• Worried
• On high alert
• Anxious
• Nervous
• Tired
• Exhausted
• Embarrassed
• Ashamed
• To blame for the perpetrator’s behaviour
• Needing to make excuses for the perpetrator’s behaviour

In the early stages of working with a client who is experiencing, or has experienced, coercive control:

• Be aware that they may not have the words to easily articulate what is happening or what has happened.
• Treat them with kindness and without judgement.
• Provide concise targeted resources to clients to assist them to identify that they may be experiencing, or may have experienced, coercive control.
• Take care not to overwhelm them with too many brochures, referrals or information.

When speaking with a client who is experiencing, or has experienced, coercive control:

• Try not to rush them.
• Victim-survivors value kindness, acknowledgment and feeling believed.

Ask questions about the impact of the behaviour as clients may find this easier to articulate than specific abusive behaviour. For example

• “Can you tell me what a typical day is like for you?”
• “How often to you see or speak to your family and friends?”
• “What typically happens if/when you disagree with your partner?

If you identify a client may be experiencing coercive control you may:

• Undertake a risk assessment (you can refer to the National Risk Assessment Principles by ANROWS which includes a list of lethality/high-risk factors).
• Consider providing assistance even when the victim-survivor appears to have high levels of capability or financial resources.
• Provide coordinated and ongoing support to assist victim-survivors to navigate the systems they may become involved with, including the legal system (victim-survivors may have identified that they were already stressed with their situation, and it may be overwhelming to have to contact another service that they have been referred to).
• Provide (or organise for) safety planning – link them with their local DV Service or DV Connect.
• Make fewer and targeted referrals (as they may be feeling overwhelmed).
• Consider prioritising assistance for people who have been misidentified as the respondent in domestic violence matters. (Victim-survivors that are misidentified are already under enormous stress and may be vulnerable to consenting, which may expose them to further coercive control).

Domestic violence Protection Orders can be granted by Magistrates Courts. An application can be made by police or ‘privately’ by the victim-survivor.

You can see our domestic violence information sheet for further general information about domestic violence orders.

If you are a service provider assisting someone to apply for a domestic violence order where there has been coercive control, it is important to remember:

• Your client may need to provide a lot of detail to address the criteria in the legislation.
• If you have already recorded a lot of detail in writing you could provide this to the client to minimise the need for your client to repeat themselves when dealing with other service providers.
• Avoid generalisations if you are helping them write the application such as “I am experiencing coercive control all the time”.
• Avoid unnecessary detail, try instead to help them focus on specific examples with particulars including:
  • When something happened;
  • What actions or words were used;
  • How it made them feel.
• Encourage your client to obtain legal advice prior to filing the application as addressing the criteria correctly can be complicated.

FREE help and confidential support about DFV, open all day, every day. Provides information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander support services in your area:

DVConnect on 1800 811 811

1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732

A lawyer can give you legal information and advice so that you can make an informed decision about your legal options. It is confidential. FREE legal advice about domestic and family violence, parenting, divorce, property and child protection:

Qld Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service on 1800 887 700

Legal Aid Indigenous Hotline on 1300 650 143

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (Qld) on 1800 012 255

North Qld Women’s Legal Service on 1800 244 504

First Nations Women’s Legal Services Qld on 1800 082 600

Women’s Legal Service Qld on 1800 957 957

It is important to understand your legal rights in relation to domestic and family violence and family law, and where you can go to get more information and legal advice. The services listed above may be able to help you.

What is domestic and family violence (DFV)?

• Physical violence (slapping, punching, kicking, biting);
• Behaviour that makes you feel scared, hurts or shames you;
• Swearing;
• Name-calling and put-downs;
• Making threats;
• Forcing you to have sex;
• Harassing you by constantly contacting you;
• Tracking your location without your consent;
• Controlling your money;
• Coercive control, being a pattern of behaviour that aims to dominate or control a person.

DFV can involve:

• Husbands and wives;
• Partners;
• Boyfriends and girlfriends;
• Family members such as adult children, parents, aunties
  or uncles.

DFV is not okay, and the law can help to protect you. A domestic violence protection order (DVO) can help to protect you and your children from future acts of domestic violence. It is a court order to stop the person from hurting or scaring you and your children. To get a DVO you can seek help from the police, or you can make a private application at your local magistrates court.

What is a divorce?

A divorce is the process to legally end your marriage.

• You must be separated for more than 12 months before you can apply for a divorce.
• It does not make decisions about your children or property matters.

How do I organise my property after separation?

Property settlement is a process where the court can change the ownership of assets and debts after separation. This can be done by agreement or you can ask the court to decide. It includes land, houses, units, superannuation, cars, and money.

It is not automatic that everything is split 50/50. You have 12 months from the date of your divorce or 2 years from the end of your de facto relationship to apply to the court for a property settlement.

How do I make arrangements for my child after separation?

Family law deals with what happens to the care of children following a separation.

Doing what is in the best interests of children is what is most important, and you should only agree to what is safe and in the best interests of the children if you separate. The law also recognises the importance of children maintaining a connection with their culture.

What do I do if child safety is involved with my family?

Child safety is the state government body that looks after child protection in Queensland.

The aim of child safety is to keep kids safe from neglect and abuse.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing Services in your local area can provide you with confidential and personalised support.

Legal Advice: Following a separation, it is important to get legal advice. You should get legal advice before agreeing or signing any documents.

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Quick exit button

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The button may be helpful if you are worried that you are being monitored and you are concerned that someone is about to find you looking at this site.

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The quick close button will not delete your browser history. This means that if someone checks your browser history, they will be able to see that you have visited this website.

For information on deleting your internet history click here.

Even if you delete your browser history, if someone is monitoring your online activity using spyware or monitoring devices, they will still be able to see that you have visited this website.

Remember: Deleting large parts of your internet history may alert someone monitoring your device or history.

Safety online

To discuss your online safety call DVConnect on 1800 811 811 (24-hour telephone advice line) or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 (24-hour telephone counselling line).

For more information on your digital safety view our digital safety resource.

People can use technology as a type of domestic and family violence. This is called technology-facilitated abuse or tech abuse.

For example, your partner or ex-partner might use technology to:

• monitor you
• stalk you
• harass or scare you
• pretend to be you or someone else.

Tech abuse might include when someone does any of the following without your consent:

• reads your text messages
• abuses or threatens you via messages or phone calls
• sends you lots of messages or repeatedly calls you
• checks your emails, internet browser history or social media accounts
• changes your passwords
• shares, or threatens to share, intimate images or videos of you.

Tech abuse might also include when someone tracks you. For example, they might:

• download or enable apps or software on your devices so that they can track your location
• follow you to your location and threaten to share it with other people
• check your GPS device to see where you’ve been
• give your child a device which has spyware or surveillance software installed.

Someone might show up where you or your children are. But you’re not expecting them to.

Someone might talk about information that they shouldn’t know. For example, they seem to know:

• where you’ve been
• who you’ve contacted online.

Someone might make changes to your device. For example, they might:

• change the settings
• add software or apps.

Someone might know your passwords. For example, the password for your email or bank account.

You might notice strange things about your device. For example:

• new apps on your device
• that some apps on your device open automatically.

You might also notice that your device:

• turns on and off
• has different settings
• is using a lot of data
• runs out of battery quickly.

You might not be able to log into your accounts, even though you don’t remember changing the password.

There are steps you can follow to protect yourself online.

You should:

• use different passwords and passcodes on all your devices and accounts
• change your passwords often – including your Apple ID or Android password, which someone can use to find your location
• set up security questions or 2-factor authentication for your online accounts.

You should also:

• download and run security software and anti-virus apps
• set your computer to automatically install updates to keep security software up to date
• check the apps on your device and make sure you know what each of them does
• uninstall any apps on your phone that you don’t know.

You should protect your location. For example, you should:

• turn off GPS or location settings on your device
• set your Bluetooth to ‘non-discoverable’.

If you and your partner separate, you might want to consider:

• blocking or deleting their contact
• creating new social media or email accounts and only sharing this information with people you trust.

You should also:

• make your social media profiles private
• delete your web history after using the internet.

You can find more information about deleting your internet history on the Queensland Government website.

Your safety is the most important thing. You should be careful if you do any of these things.

It’s a good idea to keep a record of tech abuse. The police might be able to use this information as evidence for a domestic violence protection order (DVO) or criminal charges.

The police might ask you to give them your device so they can download evidence. If you can’t keep your device, make sure you save the evidence somewhere safe. For example, you could give the evidence to a family member or friend who you trust. They can keep the evidence on their device or at their house.

You might not be able to safely take screenshots of the abuse. For example, because your partner or ex-partner will get a notification if you do. You should ask a friend or family member you trust to take photos or videos of your phone or computer.

A DVO can help protect you if you are experiencing tech abuse from your partner or ex-partner. It can also help protect your children.

A DVO will always include a condition that your partner or ex-partner is ‘not to commit acts of domestic violence and to be of good behaviour.’

You can ask for specific conditions for online abuse. For example, you can ask that you partner or ex-partner not be allowed to contact or try to contact you in any way. In court they would say:

‘The respondent is prohibited from contacting or attempting to contact or asking someone else to contact the aggrieved by any means whatsoever including telephone, text or internet.’

You can also ask that they not be allowed to post pictures or comments about you online. In court they would say:

‘The respondent is prohibited from using the internet (including social networking sites) to communicate with, publish pictures of or make adverse comments concerning the aggrieved.’

You can apply for a DVO:

• by yourself
• with a solicitor – a lawyer who can give you advice about the law and represent you in court.

The police can also sometimes apply for a DVO for you.

Stalking is a criminal offence whether it is online or offline.

If someone is stalking you, report it to police. You should try to give the police records of:

• emails
• text messages
• phone calls
• social media posts.

You can find more information about tech abuse on the Tech Safety website and on the Office of the eSafety Commissioner website.

Download the PDF: https://wlsq.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/DFVDRAB-Au-DFV-Statistics-InfoSheet-3-FINAL.pdf

Access this and more government resources here: Reports Research and Data | Coroners Court

Recognising behaviours of sexual violence within intimate partner relationships.

Download the PDF: https://wlsq.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/DFVDRAB-Sexual-Violence-InfoSheet-1-FINAL.pdf

Access this and more government resources here: Reports Research and Data | Coroners Court

Behaviours consistent with IPSV.

Download the PDF: https://wlsq.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/dfvdrab-sexual-jealousy-infosheet-2-final.pdf

Access this and more government resources here: Reports Research and Data | Coroners Court