Financial abuse in intimate partner relationships (recordings & resources)
In Australia, approximately 16% of women and 8% of men have experienced economic abuse by a partner, with financial abuse featuring in 99% of domestic violence cases. Financial abuse costs victim survivors and the Australian economy over $10.9 billion annually.
Since 2019, Redfern Legal Centre's specialist Financial Abuse Service NSW has produced training, webinars and fact sheets on financial abuse, drawing on case studies and frontline insights from our statewide service. Our webinars are valuable to all community workers in services such as financial counselling, domestic violence, women's refuges and community legal centres. Some examples relate to NSW, but most of the content is applicable Australia-wide.
Note: These resources do not focus on elder financial abuse, though some issues may be relevant to both intimate partner financial abuse and elder financial abuse.
You can watch the recordings of our webinars and access the resources referred to in the webinars below.
Resources on financial abuse
In addition to the resources below, there are more resources for government, industry and the community sector on the Economic Abuse Reference Group website and the Financial Safety website.
Webinar Powerpoint files and video recordings
This free online information session to learn how the Financial Abuse Service (FAS) supports people in NSW who are experiencing financial problems resulting from financial abuse by an intimate partner.
Victim-survivors of financial abuse face challenges navigating the multiple systems they’re required to interact with when considering leaving a relationship or after they have left.
They may find coerced debts and loans in their name, not understand their financial rights after separation, or discover they have been listed as a director of a company and have a tax debt as a result.
This free online information session will help sector workers understand the specialist service FAS provides to people in NSW.
A panel of FAS experts from each practice area will present on how we collaborate to support victim-survivors in resolving their intersecting, complex financial abuse problems.
Webinar September 2020: Resolving Financial Abuse Legal Issues
In this webinar, we share tips for investigating and resolving cases of financial abuse, gained through our experience running the Financial Abuse Service NSW. You will gain an understanding of the laws and policies that can be used to resolve credit, debt and consumer law problems that stem from financial abuse in intimate partner relationships, as well as practical strategies for negotiating with stakeholders to achieve the best outcomes for victim survivors.
Watch recording here:
Webinar July 2020: Identifying financial abuse in intimate partner relationships, and supporting victim survivors
Using insights from RLC’s Financial Abuse Service NSW, you will learn how to identify financial abuse and how to safely support victim survivors to deal with relationship debts, including when specialist legal advice is necessary and where to find it.
Watch recording here:
Webinar July 2021: Resolving Financial Abuse Issues: Two Roads Diverged
Resolving financial abuse issues often involves finding creative strategies across different areas of law. In response to high levels of unmet need identified in its first 18 months of operation, RLC’s Financial Abuse Service NSW has expanded to offer advice about family law financial matters, such as property settlement, spousal maintenance and child support, in addition to advice about credit, debt and consumer issues. Panellists:
- Maria Monastiriotis, Accredited Family Law Specialist, Financial Abuse Service NSW at Redfern Legal Centre
- Jasmine Opdam, Credit, Debt & Consumer Lawyer, Financial Abuse Service NSW at Redfern Legal Centre
Powerpoint file:
Video recording:
Webinar August 2021: Resolving Financial Abuse Issues: Telecommunications
Financial abuse issues are commonly identified in connection with telco services. Resolving practical issues around handsets, ongoing access to services and privacy are important to help remove barriers for victim survivors to leave abusive relationships. This webinar will cover practical strategies to negotiate with telco services. There are now a broad range of support options provided for in family and domestic violence policies – but accessing them can sometimes prove challenging.
Powerpoint file:
Video recording:
The webinars in this Family Law Series are a practical guide and are suitable for lawyers and community workers Australia-wide who undertake family law work in the community sector. The information may also be valuable to workers in services which assist victim survivors of family violence, such as financial counselling, domestic violence services, women’s refuges and community legal centres.
The webinars in this Family Law Series are a practical guide and are suitable for lawyers and community workers Australia-wide who undertake family law work in the community sector. The information may also be valuable to workers in services which assist victim survivors of family violence, such as financial counselling, domestic violence services, women’s refuges and community legal centres.
The webinars in this Family Law Series are a practical guide and are suitable for lawyers and community workers Australia-wide who undertake family law work in the community sector. The information may also be valuable to workers in services which assist victim survivors of family violence, such as financial counselling, domestic violence services, women’s refuges and community legal centres.
Powerpoint file for this webinar:
Video recording of this webinar
What is this webinar about?
Money is a powerful tool that can be used to isolate and control. Financial abuse is a form of violence that leaves no physical bruises, but the impact may have long lasting financial effects.
This presentation will outline the avenues available through the Family Law system to tackle any ongoing financial abuse that may occur after separation from a partner or spouse. It will address the different types of financial abuse that may occur during a relationship and after separation, how to protect yourself from ongoing abuse and the remedies available to overcome the impact of any financial abuse experienced.
This webinar will be valuable to all community workers and volunteers in services such as financial counselling, domestic violence, women's refuges and community legal centres Australia-wide. (Note: This webinar does not focus on elder abuse.)
Presenter: Maria Monastiriotis, Accredited Family Law Specialist, Financial Abuse Service NSW at Redfern Legal Centre
Powerpoint file
Video recording
What is this webinar about?
Dealing with the family home after financial abuse can be challenging, as ongoing contact with the perpetrator can subject victim survivors to further abuse. Rising interest rates and the resulting mortgage stress are set to make this difficult process even harder.
This webinar will provide practical steps for helping clients with unaffordable mortgages, strata levies and council rates. We will cover how these debts can be used as tools of financial abuse, different options available in family law and credit law, dispute resolution with lenders and creditors, and steps to take if the home is no longer affordable.
The webinar will be valuable to workers in services that assist victim survivors of family violence, such as financial counselling, domestic violence services, women’s refuges and community legal centres. This information will be applicable Australia-wide.
Presenter: Rebecca Campbell, Solicitor at RLC's Financial Abuse Service NSW
Powerpoint file
Video recording