The financial abuse victim survivors we assist commonly present to us with complex financial debts, to multiple providers, of different credit and/or insurance products. Sometimes they have debts owing as a direct result of financial abuse, through fraud, coercion to take on the debt, or entering debt because their abuser does not contribute to shared costs. In other instances, the debts can arise in the aftermath of financial and other abuse, as they try to escape or re-start a safer life. Whatever the cause, the challenge for people and their advocates is the same – a complex web of debt (or in the case of insurance, coverage) that needs to be unravelled and resolved, which can be difficult even without the added trauma of escaping an abuse situation. This submission gives an insight into the ways the financial services regulatory framework fails these Australians.
