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

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Centrelink may seek to recover payments from her sponsor who may be her ex-partner, a situation which has been seen as placing the woman at increased risk of being subjected to further violence (Braaf & Barrett Meyering 2011). A crisis payment provided through Centrelink is equal to one week of a standard benefit, and can be paid to people who experience severe financial hardship due to domestic violence and who are already receiving Centrelink income support payments. The payment can be made to people who have had to leave their home because of domestic or family violence or who remain in the home after a family member left or was removed due to domestic violence. However, women exiting violent relationships who are not eligible for Centrelink payments cannot access this payment. State governments also provide some crisis and hardship assistance and concessions for people on low incomes. For example, in Victoria there is an annual energy concession for low income households and a utility relief grant scheme to assist people in financial difficulty with gas, electricity or water bills. However, most of these types of assistance are only available to people who are eligible for a Health Care Card, thus excluding many women escaping domestic violence who may have assets ‘on paper’ but who actually have very limited immediate access to funds to pay for essential goods and services. Income management In 2007 the Howard Liberal-National Coalition Government introduced the income management scheme under which a proportion of a person’s income support payments are ‘quarantined’ or able only to be spent on certain goods and services (for example, health care, housing, food, clothing, education). While initially introduced as a compulsory scheme in some Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and as part of a trial in Cape York, provisions were also made for voluntary income management. The Labor Government has maintained and extended the scheme and from July 2012 it will operate throughout the Northern Territory and in five new locations, which are the local government areas of Shepparton (Victoria), Bankstown (New South Wales), Rockhampton (Queensland), Playford (South Australia) and Logan (Queensland). The income management scheme utilises a ‘BasicsCard’ which a person can use to purchase goods and services from approved businesses while there are restrictions on funds being spent on alcohol, tobacco, pornographic material and gambling products. Other features of the scheme include matched savings plans, money management services and training, financial counselling and, in the case of voluntary participants, financial incentives for staying in the scheme (Buckmaster & Ey 2012). Income support payment recipients who may be put onto the income management scheme are people who are referred by state or territory child protection authorities where children are deemed to be neglected or at risk, people assessed by Centrelink social workers as being ‘vulnerable’ and people who volunteer for income management. Indicators of vulnerability are financial hardship, financial exploitation, failure to undertake reasonable self-care and homelessness or risk of homelessness. Financial exploitation is described as occurring “when a person is subject to undue pressure, harassment, violence, abuse, deception or exploitation for resources by another person or people, including other family members and community members” (Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs [FaHCSIA] 2012, section 11.4.2.20). Thus, people who are subjected to economic abuse are specifically identified as targets for income management. The stated objectives of the income management scheme include to reduce hardship and deprivation, to help people to budget, to reduce discretionary spending on restricted items, to reduce the likelihood of people being subject to harassment and abuse in relation to their 30
welfare payment and to encourage socially responsible behaviour, particularly in the care and education of children (FaHCSIA 2012, section 11.1.30). Income management has been controversial, attracting widespread criticism from community and welfare bodies for being paternalist and stigmatising and as being poorly supported by any evidence of its effectiveness (Buckmaster & Ey 2012). The extension of the scheme to people experiencing economic abuse has been seen as blaming or targeting victims of abuse and as casting them as responsible for the circumstances created by the abuse, including by implying that lack of financial knowledge and financial management skills are the causes of poverty and low income (ADFVC 2010). Centrelink practices Recent qualitative research exploring the experiences of women affected by domestic and family violence reported that most women experienced Centrelink as helpful in providing quick access to income support (Braaf & Barrett Meyering 2011). It also identified that the following barriers experienced by women to accessing Centrelink services: lack of readily available information about eligibility for different types of payments, particularly the Crisis Payment and conflicting information about payments and requirements from staff lack of assistance in filling in Centrelink forms having to frequently retell domestic violence experiences to different Centrelink staff and/or having to do so in areas with no privacy and despite this information already being on file; lengthy waiting times for payments, gaps in payments and payments being cut off due to administrative errors without compensation negative encounters with Centrelink staff (Braaf & Barrett Meyering 2011, pp. 96-98) In addition to experiencing a lack of easy access to information about Centrelink payments and assistance women were not readily provided with information about legal entitlements, such as Victims’ Compensation, a concern which applies not just to Centrelink but to service providers in the community sector (Braaf & Barrett Meyering 2011). Notably, a recent review of legal frameworks relating to family violence by the ALRC produced the following recommendations: Recommendation 4-2: The Department of Human Services should provide information to customers about how family violence may be relevant to their child support, family assistance and social security matters. This should be provided in a variety of formats and should include relevant information about: (a) exemptions; (b) entitlements; (c) privacy and information protection; (d) support and services provided by the Child Support Agency, the Family Assistance Office and Centrelink; (e) referrals to Centrelink social workers and expert service providers; and (f) income management. Recommendation 4-3: The Child Support Guide, the Family Assistance Guide, and the Guide to Social Security Law should provide that, when family violence-related safety concerns are identified, the Department of Human 31
Page 2 and 3: Spotlight on Econo
Page 4 and 5: Contents List of Abbreviations ....
Page 6 and 7: Executive Summary This literature r
Page 8 and 9: legal matters migration matters hea
Page 10 and 11: There is a need for greater support
Page 12 and 13: Overview This paper is organised as
Page 14 and 15: The DV Vic definition informs the u
Page 16 and 17: Case Study: Maria Maria’s husband
Page 18 and 19: Some ‘typical scenarios’ of eco
Page 20 and 21: As part of repeated or ongoing cont
Page 22 and 23: also outside the scope of this pape
Page 24 and 25: Influences, Impacts and Points of I
Page 26 and 27: Particular vulnerabilities to econo
Page 28 and 29: Exploring the impacts of economic a
Page 30 and 31: Impacts relating to child support.
Page 32 and 33: Compared with 1995, people were mor
Page 34 and 35: Public Policies and Practices There
Page 36 and 37: the legal frameworks affecting dome
Page 38 and 39: In addition to family violence poli
Page 42 and 43: Services staff providing customer s
Page 44 and 45: perpetrators to be excluded from th
Page 46 and 47: purpose is to “build the capacity
Page 48 and 49: financial literacy strategy. Howeve
Page 50 and 51: or in any other way controls or dom
Page 52 and 53: In its recent review the ALRC ident
Page 54 and 55: and for the creation of a new tempo
Page 56 and 57: equiring assistance or consideratio
Page 58 and 59: establish if there is a need for re
Page 60 and 61: considered by community sector grou
Page 62 and 63: Community Services Policies and Pra
Page 64 and 65: Financial counselling services are
Page 66 and 67: Conclusion: Community services resp
Page 68 and 69: —— 2011, Forms of employment, A
Page 70 and 71: Chappell, D & Di Martino, V 2000, V
Page 72 and 73: se.unsw.edu.au/Conference%20papers/
Page 74 and 75: Northern Territory Government 2008,
Page 76 and 77: VicHealth—see Victorian Health Pr
Page 78 and 79: ALRC (2011c) recommendations for ch
Page 80: GoodShepherd_Cover_print.indd 2 1/1

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