Money Clinics help women break cycles of economic abuse
Melissa arrived at the Sydney Money Clinic burdened by debts that had mounted after years of post-separation financial abuse.
She was owed $83,000 in unpaid child support over the last decade, which had caused severe financial hardship.
To cover basic costs after separation she was forced to rely on credit cards, adding to her debts, while also struggling with unpaid utility bills that had been placed on repayment plans. Rather than providing relief, those plans drove her further into financial difficulty.
On top of this, Melissa had been repaying a large Centrelink debt caused by her former partner under-reporting his income. Over the past few years she has already repaid more than $10,000, with a balance still outstanding on a fortnightly plan that continues to cause ongoing stress. She was too fearful to lodge a change of circumstances form with the Child Support Agency, as the process would have required submitting bank statements that risked disclosing her address to the person using violence who is still unaware of her location.
The Sydney Money Clinic intervened on her behalf, negotiating with debt collection agencies and her utility provider. In total, about $8,000 in debt was waived, giving Melissa immediate relief.
Jennifer had endured over 15 years in a financially abusive relationship. During Covid, she was coerced into withdrawing $20,000 from her superannuation fund, which her partner transferred into his own account. She was left carrying a Centrelink debt due to his underreporting of income and a tax debt arising from a work arrangement he had set up in her name, one she did not fully understand. In addition, she was forced to take out multiple credit cards and payday loans, all in her name, while only being given a small allowance to make minimum repayments and cover family expenses.
The Sydney Money Clinic worked directly with her lenders and was able to secure multiple debt waivers totalling more than $35,000. Eliminating those debts gave Jennifer the chance to move forward, focusing on re-establishing financial stability for herself and her two children.
Centre for Women’s Economic Safety (CWES) delivers Sydney’s Money Clinics to provide women experiencing economic abuse with confidential, trauma informed financial counselling. The service helps women escape financial control, address debt, and begin to rebuild long term security.
