Financial abuse can follow victims long after relationships end. Australian experts are calling for reform

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Almost always used against women and often accompanied by other forms of violence, financial abuse can have devastating consequences – including homelessness

‘There never seems to be justice for the perpetrator, or real justice for the victim,’ … experts say legal protections must catch up to the rise in financial abuse.‘There never seems to be justice for the perpetrator, or real justice for the victim,’ … experts say legal protections must catch up to the rise in financial abuse.Kate was made to sign documents she wasn’t allowed to read, while being instructed to stay out of her husband’s financial affairs.

“Something that always gets me is that in the justice system where you’re innocent until proven guilty, victims of financial abuse are guilty until proven innocent and the burden and cost of proving their innocence rests on the victim,” said Julie Dal Pra, a small business financial counsellor at the community organisation Eastern Financial Counselling Services, also known as Each.

“We suspect that a lot of victims historically have entered into bankruptcy because they were unable to pay these amounts,” said Dal Pra. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Kayis-Kumar said the pandemic had shone a spotlight on financial abuse, and legal protections now needed to catch up.

This differs from Australian tax processes, where relief is usually only granted on grounds of serious financial hardship. The twist in the Australian tax provision is that if the person is already in hardship, and relief from the tax debt will not alleviate it, then the debt will stand.“If they’re already in hardship, and they’ve also got a tax debt, it’s sort of game over.”

 

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