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CommBank support / Financial Abuse

Your safety is our priority

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.

For counselling, advice and support call MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978 or www.mensline.org.au. 

In an emergency or if you’re not feeling safe, always call 000.

Financial abuse is a serious issue

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, 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.

We're focused on financial abuse

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.

Our focus areas

Financially empowering survivors

  • Easing the long-term financial burden on those affected by financial abuse by developing new models for sustainable financial support
  • Increasing the capacity of financial counsellors trained in domestic and financial abuse
  • Connecting caseworkers to help people affected by financial abuse work towards financial independence

Removing barriers to long-term independence for survivors

  • Opening new employment pathways for survivors of domestic and financial abuse
  • Working to identify interventions that help to address the rising rates of homelessness among survivors of domestic and financial abuse   

Supporting our people

  • Educating our people on how to recognise and address financial abuse and providing them with the tools and resources necessary to achieve long-term financial wellbeing
  • Strengthening our workplace responses and gender equality strategy to support those affected by domestic and financial abuse
  • Engaging our people through volunteering

Helping to prevent financial abuse

  • Increasing awareness in the community of the issue of domestic and financial abuse
  • Reviewing our financial education programs to make sure concepts like financial safety are incorporated
  • Increasing our understanding of how to drive impact through rigorous and reliable multi-disciplinary research which focuses on ‘real-world’ outcomes

Our partners

We're partnering with leading domestic and family violence experts and other community organisations to support Australians affected by financial abuse. Our partners include:

Support for our customers

We offer support for our customers affected by domestic and family violence through our Domestic & Family Violence Assistance Program. This includes understanding what you can do if financial abuse (PDF)  has occurred.

If you're an eligible CommBank customer you can access the Program by calling 1800 222 387 between 8am – 8pm Mon-Fri (Sydney/ Melbourne time).

Discover more about our Domestic & Family Violence Assistance Program

Things you should know

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.