Spotlight on Economic Abuse: a Literature and Policy Review

legal matters
migration matters
health.
Public awareness and understanding of these issues is poor. Responses to a 2009 national
survey of community attitudes to violence against women show that, while awareness of
domestic violence as a serious issue has increased, recognition of non-physical
behaviours—including economic abuse—as forms of domestic violence remains low.
Findings included that 25 per cent of survey respondents did not believe that “controlling a
partner by denying them money” was a form of domestic violence (compared with 33 per
cent in 1995) (Victorian Health Promotion Foundation [VicHealth] 2010; McGregor 2009).
Public policy and practice
At the broadest level economic abuse may be addressed through the achievement of
equality for women. This has been a strong theme in recent public policy in Australia and
there have been some recent positive outcomes for women specifically in relation to
employment.
While prevention has been a key focus of recent policies to address violence against
women, there is little evidence of any specific attention to raising community awareness of
economic abuse as an aspect of domestic and family violence as a preventative strategy.
Public policies framing tertiary responses to violence have a strong safety focus, including a
focus on physical safety at the point of crisis and on stopping further violence. An additional
focus on women’s longer-term wellbeing, including their financial wellbeing, is needed to
address economic abuse.
The Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) recent review of legal frameworks relating
to family violence produced recommendations to improve responses for people experiencing
violence in the social security, family assistance and child support systems. The
implementation of these recommendations should assist to stop the continuation of
economic abuse after women have left relationships and to mitigate the impacts of abuse.
There is limited research that identifies women’s pathways through legal systems to regain
economic security following domestic violence and this is an area in which further
information is needed. There is also a need to identify appropriate strategies for building
women’s financial capability.
Legal and regulatory frameworks
The recent inclusion of economic abuse in the Commonwealth Family Law Act 1975 paves
the way for a common framework for domestic and family violence in a wide range of legal
and regulatory instruments that impact on protections for women and on responses to
economic abuse.
Similarly, the take-up of the ALRC’s recommendations for changes to relevant laws and
guidelines of Fair Work Australia, Safe Work Australia, Department of Education,
Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) and Job Services Australia the Australian
Prudential Regulation Authority, Department of Human Services, Australian Taxation Office
(ATO) and superannuation fund materials should see improved responses to economic
abuse.
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