Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) financial abuse is a form of domestic and family violence;

(b) financial abuse has a serious impact on victims and survivors;

(c) the rates of the misuse of financial products to cause harm has risen since the expansion of online financial services; and

(d) there is a need to build evidence of the different types of financial abuse;

(2) condemns the:

(a) use of bank accounts to perpetrate abuse;

(b) use of money to control victims of economic abuse; and

(c) exploitation or sabotage of a person's finances to undermine their financial security and limit their ability to be independent and self-sufficient;

(3) acknowledges the:

(a) reforms by the finance sector in response to customers experiencing domestic and family violence;

(b) reforms by the major banks to amend the terms and conditions of a range of products to address financial abuse; and

(c) amendments to the industry code of conduct that raise the standard of acceptable customer behaviour;

(4) affirms that action on financial and economic abuse requires a coordinated response by banks, regulators, government, and consumer advocates; and

(5) commends the Government for its commitment to combat financial abuse.

It's total control. Controlling someone's money, controlling someone's access to the bank account, tracking someone's spending, sending abusive or threatening messages via banking transactions, forging a signature, taking out a loan in someone else's name, stopping someone from working or forcing someone to work, refusing to contribute financially—these are all examples of financial abuse. It's a powerful, insidious and pervasive form of abuse, and that's why I'm making an effort to bring this conversation to national attention.

Our Watch defines financial abuse as 'someone using money or finances to hurt or control someone else'. It's abuse that can happen to anyone. It does not discriminate between rich or poor, between educated or uneducated, or by gender or age. In fact, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported in 2021 that an estimated 1.6 million women and 745,000 men have experienced partner financial abuse. Bankwest reports that one-third of Western Australians have experienced or know someone who has experienced financial abuse, four in five agree that it is a widespread problem and one in seven admit to having been perpetrators of financial abuse.

However, it's more difficult to recognise than other forms of abuse. People don't talk about money in our culture. People don't see it as a form of abuse. And women have a tendency to not talk about finances in their social circles. Some people don't even realise that it's happening until it's too late. It makes it a hidden epidemic.

What I often talk about with people in my electorate is that financial abuse is often a red flag for other forms of abuse later on. It undermines a woman's financial independence, it limits her choices, it limits her freedom and it can leave victims-survivors in debt or poverty for years. It's often why women find it hard to leave an abusive relationship. It can be an early sign that there is yet more to come: physical, emotional and psychological abuse.

Life has moved online, and so have our financial institutions. While it brings so many benefits to us, it exposes women to another form of abuse, and we need to make sure that our financial institutions keep up. Some of the major banks have been taking up the challenge, training staff and banning perpetrators. Looking at the design of our banking products is the next step. And what about the consequences for perpetrators of financial abuse?

The issue is complex. Just last week I met with the Indian crisis centre, experts in dowry abuse. As for migrant women, visas are used to control them and take their money. Imagine going to work, getting paid and not even seeing that money. With the additional threat of being told that you could have to leave the country, it results in a significant power imbalance. This is the reality for too many women in our society.

I also acknowledge the member for Aston, who will soon be seconding this motion, and the brave women who have helped campaign on this particular issue. I want to acknowledge victims-survivors, and advocates such as Rebecca Glenn at the Centre for Women's Economic Safety, members of the newly formed Economic Abuse Reference Group in WA and other groups around Australia. We need prevention but we also need solutions. We need a coordinated approach by banks, regulators, government and consumer advocates.

Stopping all forms of violence against women is a priority for the Albanese government, which is why we are aiming to eliminate all forms of abuse in one generation. It's a commitment that's evidenced by Labor's financial investment in women's safety across the first two budgets. Together we can empower women with the skills and strength they need. We can change thinking and raise awareness so that people will understand financial abuse and that it's simply not okay.

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