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Money can be one of the most difficult subjects for couples and families to navigate. Bills need to be paid, children need clothes and food, mortgages and rent need to be covered, and families often have very different ideas about saving and spending.

A disagreement about money, a decision to have one person manage the household finances, or a cautious family budget does not automatically mean financial abuse.

The concern arises when money becomes a way of controlling, intimidating, restricting or creating dependence on another person.

Financial abuse can be difficult to recognise because it does not always look dramatic. Sometimes it begins with one person taking responsibility for paying the bills. Over time, that arrangement can change into one person controlling every financial decision, restricting the other’s access to money or information, preventing them from working, creating debts in their name or withholding money needed for everyday essentials.

In Australia, economic and financial abuse is recognised as a form of family violence. Victorian law specifically recognises economic abuse, while Commonwealth family law now expressly recognises economic or financial abuse within its definition of family violence.

For a parent, the distinction can be particularly important. A person may become financially dependent because they have taken time away from paid employment to care for children. Financial dependence itself is not abuse. The legal and safety concern is whether that dependence is deliberately created, exploited or maintained through coercive, deceptive or unreasonably controlling behaviour.

Early advice from a family intervention lawyer Melbourne residents can consult can help separate ordinary financial conflict from conduct that may satisfy the statutory definition. Relevant behaviour might include withholding essential support from a dependent partner, forcing debts into another person’s name, taking wages, or blocking reasonable access to jointly held funds without consent.

Important: This article provides general information about Australian law and family violence. It is not a substitute for individual legal advice. Laws and court processes can change, and the way they apply will depend on the circumstances of each family.

What Is Financial Abuse?

Financial abuse is a form of family violence.

Safe and Equal, Victoria’s peak body for specialist family violence services, describes financial abuse as behaviour that can include taking someone’s money, restricting access to household funds, controlling household spending or excluding someone from financial decisions that affect them. It can include denying access to money, stopping someone from earning an income, creating debts in another person’s name, making significant financial decisions without consultation, selling possessions or stealing money or property.

Financial abuse can therefore involve much more than simply taking cash.

It can affect a person’s:

• income
• bank accounts
• employment
• property
• superannuation
• credit
• debts
• financial information
• ability to make financial decisions
• ability to meet everyday living expenses
• ability to leave an unsafe relationship.

Australian research also places financial abuse within the broader concept of coercive control — a pattern of behaviours used to control or dominate another person and undermine their independence and autonomy. The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) identifies financial abuse, technology-facilitated abuse, stalking, social isolation and psychological abuse among the behaviours that can form part of coercive control.

Financial Disagreement Is Not Automatically Financial Abuse

This distinction matters.

Families make financial decisions in many different ways. One partner may pay the mortgage and manage the household bills while the other manages childcare and school expenses. A couple may have separate bank accounts, a joint account, or one account for everything.

There is no single financial arrangement that every healthy family must follow.

The question is not simply:

“Who controls the money?”

Instead, the circumstances matter.

Consider the difference between:

The difference is often found in consent, context, autonomy, dependence and the effect of the behaviour.

Economic Abuse Has a Specific Legal Meaning

The Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) treats economic abuse as a form of family violence.

Section 6 focuses on behaviour that is coercive, deceptive or unreasonably controlling, without the affected person’s consent, in a way that denies their economic or financial autonomy. The current authorised version of the legislation should be used when checking the precise test. It also addresses withholding or threatening to withhold financial support necessary to meet reasonable living expenses where the person is entirely or predominantly financially dependent.

The statutory examples assist, but they are not a checklist that decides every case.

Financial arrangements vary enormously between households.

A court may need to consider the surrounding circumstances, including:

• what the parties had agreed to;
• whether genuine consent existed;
• the person’s financial dependence;
• access to financial information;
• access to money and assets;
• employment and income;
• the effect of the behaviour;
• whether the conduct formed part of a broader pattern of family violence.

A pattern that leaves one person unable to buy food, travel safely or obtain necessary medical care carries a very different character from a genuine disagreement about whether the family should buy a new television.

What Does Financial Abuse Look Like in Everyday Family Life?

Financial abuse does not always begin with an obvious act.

Sometimes it develops gradually.

A partner might initially say:

“Don’t worry about the bills. I’ll take care of everything.”

That arrangement may be perfectly healthy if it is genuinely agreed and both people retain appropriate access to information and resources.

The situation becomes very different if the message changes to:

“You don’t need to know what is in the account.”

or:

“You don’t get to spend any money unless I say so.”

or:

“If you leave, I’ll make sure you have nothing.”

Examples of behaviour that may raise concerns include:

• taking or controlling another person’s wages
• denying access to their own money
• restricting access to joint accounts
• providing an inadequate financial allowance as a means of control
• preventing a person from working
• sabotaging employment or education
• refusing to contribute to essential household expenses
• forcing someone to take out a loan
• accumulating debt in someone else’s name
• forcing someone to sign financial documents
• controlling access to property
• selling jointly owned property against the other person’s wishes
• hiding bank accounts or assets
• deliberately damaging someone’s credit position
• withholding money needed for children’s essential expenses
• using financial support as a threat
• refusing to provide information about significant debts or liabilities.

Safe and Equal identifies many of these behaviours as forms of financial abuse in Victoria.

10 Signs Money May Be Being Used as Control

Not every sign below will amount to family violence on its own. The context and pattern matter.

However, these behaviours can be warning signs:

1. You have to ask permission to spend your own money

There is a difference between agreeing on a family budget and being required to obtain permission for ordinary personal expenses because another person controls you through money.

2. Your wages are taken or transferred without genuine agreement

A joint financial arrangement should not become a mechanism for one person to take away another person’s financial autonomy.

3. You cannot access the family’s financial information

You may be excluded from information about bank accounts, debts, loans, investments or property.

4. Debts are created in your name

This may include loans, credit cards, phone contracts, utility accounts, buy-now-pay-later accounts or other liabilities.

5. You are prevented from working

This can be particularly significant where a person’s ability to earn an income is deliberately restricted.

6. Money for essentials is withheld

This might include money needed for food, medication, transport, housing or children’s needs.

7. You are deliberately kept financially dependent

Financial dependence can occur naturally within families, particularly when one parent provides unpaid care. The concern is when that dependence is deliberately exploited to restrict independence or choice.

8. Your property is controlled or disposed of

This can include removing, keeping or selling property against your wishes.

9. Financial decisions are made without you

Major financial decisions may be made without consultation while you are denied meaningful information or involvement.

10. Money is used to stop you leaving

Financial threats can become especially serious around separation when a person knows they may have limited access to income, housing or other resources.

Safe and Equal identifies lack of access to an ATM card, a financial allowance and a partner making all decisions as possible warning signs that someone may be experiencing family violence.

What Does “Financial Autonomy” Actually Mean?

The expression financial autonomy can sound like legal language, but the basic idea is straightforward.

It concerns a person’s ability to have appropriate control over their own financial life.

That can include being able to:

• understand what financial accounts exist;
• access money they are entitled to use;
• understand debts and liabilities;
• participate in significant financial decisions;
• earn an income where they are otherwise able to;
• access their own financial information;
• make reasonable financial decisions without coercion;
• retain some capacity to support themselves.

The law does not require every family to divide money equally or operate separate bank accounts.

Rather, the concern is whether someone’s financial independence is being unreasonably denied through coercive, deceptive or controlling behaviour.

Financial Abuse and Economic Abuse: Are They the Same?

The terms financial abuse and economic abuse are sometimes used interchangeably, although Australian research can distinguish between them.

AIFS explains that economic abuse can refer to behaviours that inhibit a person’s ability to make decisions about, control and maintain economic resources, while financial abuse can refer more specifically to control over money and household finances.

Economic abuse can therefore extend beyond what is sitting in a bank account.

For example, deliberately preventing someone from:

• working;
• studying;
• developing their career;
• accessing superannuation;
• maintaining property;
• building financial independence;

may have long-term economic consequences even if no cash is physically taken.

This broader understanding is important because control over economic opportunity can be just as significant as control over money already earned.

Why Having Children Can Change the Financial Dynamic

Having children can change the financial balance within a relationship.

One parent may:

• take parental leave;
• reduce working hours;
• leave paid employment;
• become the primary carer;
• undertake unpaid domestic work;
• manage school and childcare responsibilities;
• lose career opportunities because of caring responsibilities.

These arrangements are common and are not, by themselves, financial abuse.

The concern arises when a person’s role as the primary carer is used to deliberately remove their financial independence or ability to make choices.

For example, a parent who has spent several years caring for young children may have little income of their own. That does not mean their partner is abusing them.

But if the other person deliberately uses that financial dependence to control what they can buy, prevents them from accessing household money, sabotages their attempts to return to work or threatens to leave them without money for the children, the circumstances may be very different.

This is one reason context matters so much.

When Financial Control Escalates Around Separation

Financial control can become particularly visible around separation.

One person might:

• cancel access to funds;
• change banking passwords;
• interfere with employment;
• dispose of property;
• create new liabilities;
• hide assets;
• refuse access to financial information;
• withhold money needed for living expenses;
• use child-related expenses as a means of control;
• deliberately create financial insecurity.

Timing does not determine the legal issue by itself.

But separation can reveal patterns that may previously have been hidden within the relationship.

Australian family violence research recognises that coercive control can involve financial abuse, technology-facilitated abuse, stalking, isolation and other behaviours operating together rather than as isolated incidents.

Economic abuse can also continue after a relationship ends. Victorian family violence sector research has highlighted the ways economic abuse can persist after separation, including through debt, property and financial arrangements.

The 2025 Family Law Changes: Why They Matter

There is an important development that anyone reading about financial abuse in Australia should know about.

From 10 June 2025, the Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) introduced significant changes to the way family law deals with property and financial matters following relationship breakdown.

The reforms expressly recognise economic or financial abuse as a form of family violence under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

The Commonwealth definition now includes examples such as:

• forcibly controlling money or assets, including superannuation;
• sabotaging employment, income or potential income;
• forcing a person to take on a financial or legal liability;
• accumulating debt in someone’s name without their knowledge;
• unreasonably withholding financial support needed for reasonable living expenses;
• certain forms of dowry-related economic abuse.

The reforms also make clear that the effect of family violence is relevant to property and financial decisions following relationship breakdown.

This is significant because financial abuse is not simply a relationship issue that disappears when a couple separates.

Its financial consequences may continue to affect:

• income;
• employment;
• property;
• debt;
• superannuation;
• housing;
• future financial circumstances.

The Australian Government stresses that the changes provide a framework for considering family violence in property matters; they do not mean that every allegation of financial abuse automatically changes the outcome of a property settlement. Individual circumstances and evidence remain important.

What the 2025 Changes Do Not Mean

It is important not to overstate the law.

The reforms do not mean:

• every financial disagreement is financial abuse;
• one partner automatically receives a greater share of property because they allege financial abuse;
• every unequal financial arrangement is unlawful;
• an allegation automatically proves family violence;
• an intervention order automatically determines a property settlement.

The court still applies the relevant legislation to the facts and evidence of the individual case.

That distinction is important for both victim-survivors and respondents.

Evidence Often Sits Across Several Records

Financial control rarely appears in one document.

A bank statement may show money moving from one account to another. It may not explain why that happened.

A loan document may show that a debt exists. It may not explain how the person came to sign it.

A text message may show a threat or demand, but other records may provide important context.

Evidence can therefore exist across multiple sources.

Financial records may include:

• bank statements;
• transaction histories;
• credit-card statements;
• loan applications;
• mortgage documents;
• superannuation records;
• payslips;
• tax records;
• business records;
• property documents;
• utility accounts;
• credit reports.

Digital records may include:

• text messages;
• emails;
• banking alerts;
• account-access notifications;
• messages about spending;
• messages about employment;
• messages concerning debts;
• communications about property.

Other evidence may include:

• witness accounts;
• employment records;
• relevant court documents;
• police records;
• a dated chronology of incidents.

The surrounding explanation still matters.

A transaction record shows movement of money. It may not show pressure, deception, coercion or consent.

Messages, witness accounts and a chronology can help connect the financial records with what was happening at the time.

Records should be obtained lawfully and preserved in their original form where possible.

Keep a Chronology

A chronology can help turn a confusing series of financial events into a clearer sequence.

For example:

A chronology does not prove that financial abuse occurred.

Its purpose is to help identify what happened, when it happened and what records may support the account.

Most importantly, do not put yourself at greater risk trying to collect evidence.

If another person monitors your phone, banking, email or computer activity, seeking advice about safe ways to document information may be more important than collecting everything yourself.

Digital Financial Abuse Is Increasingly Important

Financial control can now occur through technology as well as physical access to money.

Examples may include:

• changing online banking passwords;
• changing account recovery details;
• accessing another person’s online banking;
• controlling two-factor authentication;
• monitoring transactions;
• monitoring spending through shared devices;
• accessing financial apps;
• using shared email accounts to monitor financial correspondence;
• tracking a person’s financial activity through technology.

Australian research identifies technology-facilitated abuse as one of the behaviours that can form part of coercive control.

Digital safety therefore belongs alongside financial safety.

When Debt Becomes a Tool of Control

Debt can have consequences long after a relationship ends.

Financial abuse may involve pressuring someone to:

• take out a loan;
• obtain a credit card;
• guarantee someone else’s borrowing;
• sign business documents;
• accept responsibility for a debt;
• enter a financial contract;
• allow debts to accumulate in their name.

The Commonwealth Family Law Act now specifically identifies forcing a family member to take on a financial or legal liability and accumulating debt in their name without their knowledge as examples of behaviour that might constitute economic or financial abuse.

The Victorian legislation also contains examples concerning coercing a person into financial arrangements, preventing access to joint financial assets and disposing of property against a person’s wishes.

If you discover a debt in your name that you do not understand or did not knowingly agree to, obtaining independent financial and legal advice can be important.

Financial Abuse Can Affect Children Too

Children do not have to be the direct target of financial control to be affected by it.

Financial insecurity can influence a family’s:

• housing;
• food security;
• access to transport;
• education;
• childcare;
• healthcare;
• ability to participate in ordinary activities.

Australian research into coercive control also identifies significant potential impacts on children, including behavioural, psychological and emotional consequences.

Under Commonwealth family law, a child is considered exposed to family violence if the child sees or hears family violence or otherwise experiences its effects.

That does not mean that every financial disagreement between parents is family violence or that every child exposed to household financial stress has experienced family violence.

Again, the circumstances and behaviour matter.

What Happens If Financial Abuse Is Alleged?

An application should identify the conduct with enough detail for the respondent to understand and answer it.

Broad claims such as:

“They controlled all the money.”

may be harder to assess than specific information about:

• what happened;
• when it happened;
• what money or property was involved;
• what was said;
• whether consent existed;
• what effect the conduct had;
• what records support the allegation.

The court also considers relevant evidence when determining whether protection is required and whether family violence is likely to continue or occur again.

This is why pattern, context, effect and future risk can all matter.

The Court Considers Pattern, Effect and Future Risk

Family violence is not always a series of isolated incidents.

Coercive control can involve repeated behaviours that gradually restrict a person’s autonomy.

Australian research describes coercive control as an ongoing and repetitive use of behaviours or strategies to control a current or former intimate partner.

One financial decision may look insignificant when viewed in isolation.

A series of decisions may look very different.

For example:

• first, one partner takes over the bank accounts;
• then the other loses access to financial information;
• then employment is discouraged;
• then money for essential expenses is restricted;
• then debts appear in their name;
• finally, access to money is withdrawn when they try to leave.

The legal significance depends on the circumstances, but the pattern can provide context that an individual transaction cannot.

Protection Orders and Financial Remedies Have Different Jobs

An intervention order can protect a person from family violence and may impose conditions concerning contact, behaviour, property or other matters.

It is not the same thing as a final division of relationship property.

Property settlement and financial matters are generally dealt with through the Commonwealth family-law system.

This distinction matters because a family may have several overlapping legal issues at the same time.

For example:

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia explains that the 2025 reforms changed the framework for property and financial matters and expressly recognised the relevance of family violence and economic or financial abuse.

Practitioners should identify which court process addresses each immediate need.

Urgent protection from coercive conduct may sit alongside:

• family-law advice;
• financial advice;
• banking safeguards;
• debt assistance;
• identity-theft advice;
• property proceedings.

Statements made in one proceeding should remain consistent with the evidence used elsewhere.

Respondents Need the Full Financial Context

An allegation of financial abuse does not automatically establish that economic abuse occurred.

A respondent should preserve complete financial records and communications, rather than selecting only favourable entries.

Evidence of:

• agreed budgeting;
• shared account access;
• repayments;
• financial contributions;
• employment arrangements;
• changes requested by either party;
• significant purchases;
• previous agreements;

may help provide the court with the wider context.

If an allegation is disputed, the response should address the relevant incidents calmly, accurately and specifically.

Existing interim conditions must still be followed while financial evidence is disputed.

Attempts to demand documents directly, access another person’s account, change passwords without authority or pressure someone to withdraw an application could create further problems.

Where financial information is incomplete, formal disclosure processes may be safer than self-help.

A practitioner should also consider whether joint liabilities, business accounts, property interests or third-party records require specialist financial or family-law advice.

The intervention-order case should remain focused on the alleged family violence and the protection sought.

If You Think Money Is Being Used to Control You

If something in this article feels familiar, you do not have to work out the legal definition by yourself.

Consider obtaining confidential advice from a family violence service, lawyer or financial counsellor.

Depending on your circumstances, it may be useful to:

• seek independent legal advice;
• keep important financial and identity documents secure;
• obtain copies of financial information you are lawfully entitled to access;
• keep a record of relevant incidents if it is safe to do so;
• seek advice about debts in your name;
• ask about financial counselling;
• obtain advice before signing new financial documents;
• consider your digital safety;
• talk to a specialist family violence service about your options.

Do not confront someone about suspected financial abuse if doing so could increase the risk to you or your children.

Your safety comes before collecting evidence.

Think About Your Digital Safety

If someone monitors your phone, computer, email, banking or browsing activity, even searching for help may create a safety concern.

Safe and Equal warns that someone may be able to see websites visited even when a website provides a quick-exit function.

If you are concerned that someone is monitoring your technology, consider seeking advice about safe ways to communicate and access support.

Where possible, use a device or account that the other person cannot access.

Do not assume that deleting a message, browser history or financial record will necessarily remove evidence or prevent monitoring.

What If You Are Worried About Someone You Know?

Financial abuse can be difficult to disclose.

A person may feel embarrassed about not having money, worried about their children, frightened about what will happen after separation or uncertain whether what is happening is actually abuse.

Safe and Equal recommends a safe and non-judgemental approach that allows a person experiencing family violence to retain choice and control over what they disclose and what they do next.

Instead of saying:

“Why don’t you just leave?”

you might say:

“I’m worried about what is happening. I’m here if you want to talk, and I can help you find information when you’re ready.”

Sometimes having one person who listens without judgement is the first step toward seeking help.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is controlling money always financial abuse?

No.

Couples can legitimately agree that one person will manage household finances. The issue is whether the behaviour involves coercion, deception, unreasonable control, lack of consent or the denial of financial autonomy in circumstances that meet the relevant legal definition.

Can financial abuse happen without physical violence?

Yes.

Family violence does not have to involve physical assault. Australian research and Victorian law recognise non-physical forms of family violence, including economic and financial abuse.

Can one person managing all the household money be financial abuse?

Not automatically.

Many couples choose to have one person manage the household finances.

The important questions include whether the arrangement is genuinely agreed, whether both people have appropriate access to financial information and resources, and whether money is being used as a means of coercion or control.

Can financial abuse happen after separation?

Yes.

Financial control can continue after a relationship ends and may involve property, debt, employment, financial support or other economic resources.

Can financial abuse affect a property settlement?

It can be relevant.

Since 10 June 2025, Commonwealth family law expressly recognises economic or financial abuse within the definition of family violence and makes the effect of family violence relevant to the property framework.

The effect on an individual property matter depends on the circumstances and evidence.

Can someone be forced to take out a loan in their name?

Coercing someone to take on a financial or legal liability can fall within the examples of economic or financial abuse under the Family Law Act. Accumulating debt in someone’s name without their knowledge is also expressly identified.

If you discover debts you did not knowingly agree to, seek independent advice.

What evidence can help establish financial abuse?

Potentially relevant evidence can include bank records, loan documents, messages, emails, employment records, property records, witness accounts and a chronology of incidents.

No single document necessarily proves financial abuse.

The surrounding context remains important.

What if I have been accused of financial abuse?

Do not ignore the allegation, but do not attempt to resolve it through pressure or confrontation.

Preserve complete financial records, comply with any existing orders or conditions and obtain appropriate legal advice.

Where can I get help in Victoria?

Victorians can contact specialist family violence services, Victoria Legal Aid, WIRE and other support services.

If you or your children are in immediate danger, call 000.

Financial Abuse: Myth vs Fact

MYTH: Financial abuse means someone has taken all their partner’s money.

FACT: Financial abuse can involve control over money, employment, debts, assets, financial information and economic opportunities.

MYTH: Separate bank accounts are a sign of financial abuse.

FACT: Couples can legitimately choose to maintain separate finances.

MYTH: One partner managing the finances is automatically abusive.

FACT: Many families have one person who manages the household finances by agreement. The issue is whether financial control is coercive, deceptive, unreasonable or removes the other person’s autonomy.

MYTH: Financial abuse must involve physical violence.

FACT: Family violence can include non-physical behaviour, including financial and economic abuse.

MYTH: Financial abuse ends when a relationship ends.

FACT: Financial control can continue after separation through debt, property, employment and financial arrangements.

MYTH: An allegation of financial abuse automatically changes a property settlement.

FACT: Family violence and economic or financial abuse can be relevant to property proceedings, but the court considers the circumstances and evidence of the individual case.

Key Takeaways

Financial disagreement is not automatically financial abuse.

Economic abuse is recognised as family violence under Victorian law.

Financial abuse can involve money, employment, debts, property, superannuation and financial information.

Financial dependence is not itself abuse. The concern is whether dependence is deliberately exploited or maintained through coercive or controlling behaviour.

Financial abuse can be subtle. It may develop gradually rather than appearing as one obvious incident.

Having children can change a family’s financial dynamic, particularly when one parent reduces or leaves paid employment to provide care.

Financial abuse can continue after separation, including through debts, property, employment and financial support.

Australian family law changed significantly on 10 June 2025, including expressly recognising economic or financial abuse and making the effect of family violence relevant within the property framework.

Good records can help establish what happened and when, but safety should come before gathering evidence.

Legal advice and specialist family violence support can be particularly important when protection, parenting, property and financial issues overlap.

Where to Get Help

1800RESPECT

Australia’s national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service.

Phone: 1800 737 732

If there is immediate danger, call 000.

Victoria Legal Aid

Victoria Legal Aid provides information and legal assistance concerning family violence and Family Violence Intervention Orders.

Magistrates’ Court of Victoria

The Magistrates’ Court provides information about Family Violence Intervention Orders (FVIOs) and the court process.

WIRE

WIRE provides support and information in Victoria, including assistance relating to family violence and financial abuse. Safe and Equal lists WIRE as a statewide service.

Phone: 1300 134 130

Safe and Equal

Safe and Equal is Victoria’s peak body for specialist family violence services and provides information about family violence, financial abuse and support services.

Australian Research and References

Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS). Coercive Control Literature Review. Australian Government. The review synthesises Australian research concerning coercive control, including financial abuse, technology-facilitated abuse, impacts on children and the complexities of identifying and responding to coercive control.

MacDonald, J. B., Willoughby, M., Gartoulla, P., Cotton, E., March, E., Alla, K., & Strawa, C. (2024). What the research evidence tells us about coercive control victimisation. Australian Institute of Family Studies, Child Family Community Australia.

Attorney-General’s Department. Family law (property) changes from 10 June 2025. Australian Government.

Attorney-General’s Department. Family law changes from June 2025: Information for family law professionals. Australian Government.

Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Family law property changes from 10 June 2025.

Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), s 4AB. Current Commonwealth legislation recognising economic or financial abuse as an example of family violence and setting out examples of behaviour that may constitute such abuse.

Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic), s 6. Victorian legislation defining economic abuse and providing statutory examples.

Safe and Equal. Forms of family violence — Financial abuse.

Safe and Equal. Identifying family violence.

Safe and Equal. If you are experiencing family violence.

A Final Word

Money is part of everyday family life.

We budget for groceries. We worry about mortgages and rent. We save for our children’s future. We make decisions about childcare, school, holidays and the next unexpected bill.

Not every disagreement about money is abuse.

But money should never become a weapon used to make another person feel trapped, frightened or powerless.

If someone is deliberately controlling your access to money, preventing you from earning an income, creating debts in your name, withholding essential financial support or using your financial dependence to control your choices, it is worth taking those concerns seriously.

You do not have to decide by yourself whether what is happening meets a legal definition.

Getting information is not the same as making a decision.

Speaking confidentially with a specialist service or lawyer can simply help you understand your options and what support may be available.

And if you are supporting a friend, sister, brother, daughter, son or another parent who may be experiencing financial abuse, sometimes the most helpful thing you can offer is simple:

Listen. Believe them. Don’t judge them. And let them know they don’t have to work it all out alone.