Financial abuse is a common and often hidden type of abuse within family and domestic violence, characterized by behaviors that control, restrict, or hide money and financial information, frequently involving a person’s bank accounts, credit cards, tax filings, and business reporting systems. Financial abuse is a very particular subset of economic abuse. It’s an effective form of coercive control that restricts a person’s financial autonomy, decision-making capacity, and access to their own funds, and it’s estimated to cost the economy nearly $11 billion a year and affects more than 2.4 million Australians.
“Financial abuse can occur both before and after partner separation, which means it is an ever-present threat in the context of domestic and family violence (DFV),” says Professor Jan Breckenridge, Head of the School of Social Sciences and the Co-Convener of the UNSW Gendered Violence Research Network.
Prof. Breckenridge has undertaken extensive research on gendered violence, and selected research on domestic, family and sexual violence and workplace responses; economic and financial abuse; homelessness and the potential of safe-at-home programs for women and children affected by domestic and family violence.
The financial abuse warning signs to watch
Financial abuse can significantly impact a person’s financial situation and their well-being. It can occur alongside emotional and psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse and sexual violence. The impacts are particularly severe for older people, where financial abuse is a key feature of elder abuse, often involving a trusted family member or caregiver.
Specifically, Prof. Breckenridge says the following red flags may suggest that an individual is experiencing financial abuse:
- Not having awareness of, or information about, their own or shared financial situation.
- Not having access to bank accounts, passwords or utilities.
- Not having control over wages, benefits or one’s own money.
- Being forced to justify spending or denied autonomy in financial decisions.
- Being listed as a Director in a company without consent.
- Being locked out of a myGov account or having refunds used without permission.
- A partner failing to lodge tax returns or manipulating income reporting.
- Changes to insurance or utilities without knowledge.
Unfortunately, in many cases, financial abuse only becomes visible once a situation has escalated. “There may not always be warning signs or red flags apparent to others or even the victim of the financial abuse themselves until there is a related crisis,” says Prof. Breckenridge.
Financial abuse often remains hidden until finances are closely scrutinized, and is frequently first detected at tax time.
UNSW Business School’s Professor Ann Kayis-Kumar, Founding Director of the UNSW Tax and Business Advisory Clinic, says the red flags that often surface during tax filing include limiting access to accounts or income, making financial decisions on someone’s behalf, hiding assets, shifting debts, and using business or financial structures to block access to money.
These warning signs may also appear alongside other abusive behaviors, including emotional manipulation and isolation.
What steps can someone take once they recognize financial abuse?
Once financial abuse is identified, understanding exposure to debt, liability and financial risk is critical, particularly where tax, welfare or banking systems are involved.
“An important first step is to ensure you understand your financial circumstances and liabilities. This may require assistance from specialist financial advisors or services that have expertise in responding to DFV/financial abuse,” says Prof. Breckenridge.
She says many institutions, including banks, insurance and government agencies, now have protocols to respond when financial abuse is disclosed.
“With many organizations—including financial institutions, insurance agencies, utilities and Social Services—the victim can directly disclose their concerns about financial abuse and ask for assistance to resolve concerns and regain financial control,” says Prof. Breckenridge.
For people in immediate danger, she recommends prioritizing safety, preparing a quick exit plan where necessary, and seeking support services that can provide confidential guidance and referrals.
“The most important step is to ensure that the victim identifies and responds to any issues related to their financial involvement/entanglement with their partner or ex-partner and to be fully aware of and understand their accompanying responsibilities,” she says.
When financial abuse is uncovered at tax time
Financial abuse can be uncovered during tax preparation, audits, or debt recovery processes, when missing records or unexplained liabilities come to light.
“Understandably, it can be overwhelming to uncover financial abuse—let alone to also discover that the ATO will be chasing you for tax debts that you weren’t even responsible for creating or knew existed,” says Prof. Kayis-Kumar.
She warns that professional safeguards do not always prevent abuse. “Although accountants and tax agents have professional and ethical duties to act in the best interests of their clients (including both spouses), in practice, we frequently see perpetrators controlling and gatekeeping the relationship with the family’s tax professional.
“In some cases, tax debts have been created with the assistance of that professional, be it unwittingly or otherwise. This makes it unsafe and impractical for victim–survivors to address the problem through the existing accountant or tax agent.”
Last year, research led by Prof. Kayis-Kumar and colleagues at the UNSW Tax and Business Advisory Clinic examined how perpetrators of domestic and financial abuse weaponize Australia’s tax and transfer systems.
The research (awaiting publication) sheds light on how abusers misuse financial documents, legal documents, Australian business numbers, tax file numbers, business structures and refund mechanisms to control financial decisions, restrict decision-making, and undermine financial independence.
In some cases, perpetrators exploit joint bank accounts, make unauthorized withdrawals, control bank accounts and credit cards, or pressure victim-survivors to sign power of attorney arrangements that strip them of control over their own money.
These dynamics are common in abusive relationships, including situations involving elder abuse, where older people may depend on others for care, housing or support.
Prof. Kayis-Kumar says, “Perpetrators often use a broad spectrum of methods to create tax debts, ranging from: fraudulently creating tax debts in the victim-survivor’s name without their knowledge; using threats or violence to coerce the victim-survivors into creating tax debts; or, providing the victim-survivor with insufficient details so that they do not fully understand the true nature or extent of their tax position or tax debt.
“In these situations, an important first step is to alert the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) directly, as soon as it is safe to do so.”
How the ATO’s Vulnerability Framework changes the response
The UNSW Tax and Business Advisory Clinic brings together industry, community organizations, and academic experts to develop practical, research-based policy solutions. This work has influenced Federal Government policy on tax and financial abuse and informed the ATO’s Vulnerability Framework, the first globally to recognize financial abuse as a taxpayer vulnerability.
Developed through broad consultation, the framework strengthens how the tax system responds to vulnerability and advances the national conversation on tax justice.
Prof. Kayis-Kumar says, “The ATO now formally recognizes family and domestic violence as a category meriting personal crisis support. This complements the ATO’s new Vulnerability Framework, which recognizes financial abuse as a category requiring specialist support.
“Specifically, the ATO now has tailored support for people experiencing challenging life circumstances, including specialist support for victim-survivors experiencing financial difficulties and serious hardship.”
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