In an emergency or if you’re not feeling safe, always call 000.
For confidential information, counselling and support, we recommend calling 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. This is a free and confidential service that isn’t part of Commonwealth Bank. If you need an interpreter or translator, you can ask for one and the counsellor will make the arrangements.
The Men's Referral Service can also help you end domestic and family violence. Call 1300 766 491.
Financial abuse is a serious form of domestic and family violence that occurs when an abuser uses money and resources as a means to gain power, and to control their partner or family member.
It occurs in many different forms and can affect anyone. Approximately 1 in 4 women and 1 in 13 men have experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner.1 In fact, research suggests up to 90% of people who seek help for domestic and family violence are also affected by financial abuse.2
Financial abuse is one of the most powerful ways an abuser can keep a partner or family member trapped in an abusive relationship, and may also impact on that person’s ability to stay safe once they leave the relationship.
As part of our CommBank Next Chapter program, we’re committed to increasing community and industry understanding of domestic and financial abuse and building capability to more effectively respond to this issue.
Financial abuse in the context of domestic and family violence (domestic and financial abuse) is a serious and widespread problem affecting people in communities across Australia.
At CommBank, our purpose is to deliver financial wellbeing for all Australians, including those in vulnerable circumstances. Over the past few years, we’ve invested in initiatives to support Australians affected by domestic and family violence. We’re working with expert partners to expand on our initiatives to further focus on financial abuse.
This work has already begun and it’s just the start.
We’ve partnered with the Gendered Violence Research Network at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to commission independent research to fill gaps in our knowledge of financial abuse and develop effective responses.
We continue to partner with leading domestic and family violence experts and other community organisations to support Australians affected by financial abuse. Our partners include:
We’ve developed a number of resources you can use to build your understanding of financial abuse and improve your financial independence:
We offer support to our customers affected by domestic and family violence. This includes letting you know what you can do if you’re experiencing financial abuse (PDF).
You can call a Community Wellbeing specialist on 1800 222 387 between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday (Sydney/Melbourne time – excluding public holidays).
Discover more about our domestic and family violence assistance
1 2016 Personal Safety Survey, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017
2 Adams et al (2008), Development of the Scale of Economic Abuse, Violence Against Women, vol. 14, No. 5; Evans, I. (2007), Battle-scars: Long-term effects of prior domestic violence, Centre for Women’s Studies and Gender Research, Monash University; Sharp, N. (2008), What’s yours is mine: The different forms of economic abuse and its impact on women and children experiencing domestic violence, Refuge.
