Financial abuse needs an institutional response -

Safety includes having choices about money. A perpetrator can restrict those choices through financial abuse, and institutions have responsibilities in how they respond.

On 14 October 2026, the Australian Government announced its response to a parliamentary inquiry into financial abuse. It says it supports, or supports in principle, 58 of 61 recommendations. Its programme includes consultation on debts created through coercion and further work concerning coerced company directorships.

An announcement is not a completed reform. Some measures remain proposals or await draft legislation. This release should not be read as a promise that an individual debt will be transferred, cancelled or waived.

Our call to action is to ask government and financial institutions for clear implementation dates, accessible support and public measures of whether changes reduce harm. People affected should not have to carry the burden of fixing the system themselves.

Responsibility for financial abuse belongs to the person using it. Seeking information or support does not require someone to justify why they stayed in a relationship.

Source: Australian Government joint announcement, 14 October 2026: https://ministers.dss.gov.au/media-releases/19401