Spotlight on economic abuse - Good Shepherd Youth & Family ...

The establishment of a National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children in
2008 was followed by the development and endorsement by the Commonwealth, states and
territories—through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG)—of the National Plan to
Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children, 2010-2022 (the National Plan) (COAG
2009). This represents a significant development as Australia’s first national response to
violence against women.
The National Plan does not name economic abuse as a form of domestic violence, possibly
reflecting the fact that economic abuse is not recognised in family violence law in all
Australian states and territories (see Section 5 below). However, in defining domestic
violence the National Plan does include “control of finances” as an example of controlling
behaviours which are psychological and emotional abuse (COAG 2010, p. 2), which also
reflects the approach taken in recent change to federal family law (also discussed in Section
5 below). Interventions identified in the National Plan relating directly to economic abuse and
its consequences are:
primary interventions at the societal level promoting economic equality and building
an evidence base
secondary interventions including information strategies for newly arrived migrant
women and improving workplace supports.
The outcomes identified in the National Plan include changes in community attitudes as well
as improved services and justice. 5 There is considerable emphasis on primary prevention
through community involvement and education. However, there may be limited potential for
the National Plan to facilitate increased awareness of the variety of forms of abuse that
constitute domestic and family violence as strategies for changing attitudes do not explicitly
identify this as a goal.
There is some recognition of the significance of gender inequality and women’s economic
security in the National Plan with “the advancement of gender equality” among the 18
strategies identified (COAG 2010, p. 16). The specific interventions (mainly for the Australian
Government) for the first three years of this particular strategy are mostly directed to
achieving economic equality for women. For 2010 to 2013, these interventions are:
measures to increase women’s economic security, including paid parental leave,
superannuation reform and increased support for pensioners
measures to increase women’s leadership opportunities
the provision of information about protections for women who experience violence to
newly arrived migrants and refugees
consultation with peak employer and employee representatives to improve ways for
workplaces to better support women experiencing domestic violence
funding the ADFVC Domestic Violence Workplace Rights and Entitlements project.
One other strategy in the National Plan explicitly addresses the economic impacts of
domestic and family violence; this is a tertiary intervention which is to “support mainstream
services to identify and respond to needs”, a strategy which is presented as responding to
the needs for women and children “to receive holistic support including health, housing,
education, employment and legal assistance” (COAG 2010, pp. 23-24). Interventions in the
short-term include the provision of homelessness services to improve housing options for
women and funding of income support and family assistance payments, including the crisis
payment for women experiencing violence; other interventions mainly target the health
sector and health workers. One other highly relevant strategy in the National Plan relates to
5 Appendix A of this paper provides more detail of the outcomes identified in the National Plan.
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