Catherine Fitzpatrick

The industry association says there is an opportunity to uplift industry practice, and drive greater consistency in how financial institutions engage with individuals who suffer financial abuse.

Arca, the peak association focussed on the use of credit reporting and consumer data, has welcomed the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, and called for greater industry collaboration in addressing the issue.

Elsa Markula, Arca’s CEO, said: “Arca and our members recognise the devastating impact domestic abuse can have on an individual’s relationship with credit, and how their creditworthiness is seen through the lens of the credit reporting system. More must be done to assist victims and victim-survivors when they and their representatives interact with the credit reporting system.”

“We are strong supporters of the report from the Parliamentary Joint Committee, which is far reaching and hugely significant. There is an opportunity to uplift industry practice and drive greater consistency in how financial institutions respond to financial abuse, which will see improved outcomes for victims and victim survivors.”

Arca has undertaken an extensive consultation process over the last few years, which involved engaging with a range of specialists, including lived experience experts, financial counsellors, community legal services, and government organisations. As part of this, Arca engaged social enterprise, Flequity Ventures, who worked with research partners, Centre for Women’s Economic Safety, the Independent Collective of Survivors, and the Institute of Non-Violence, to conduct lived experience research.

The research, which involved surveys and interviews with victims and victim-survivors of domestic abuse, focussed on their experiences with credit products and interactions with credit providers. A roundtable on perpetrator perspectives was also conducted, along with subsequent workshops with Arca members to identify actions.

Based on insights from victims and victim-survivors of domestic abuse, Arca has identified a need for more consistency in how financial institutions engage with individuals who suffer abuse, alongside the flexibility to tailor responses to each individual’s situation. In response to the findings, the organisation is focusing on exploring industry-led initiatives to empower victims and victim-survivors.

Speaking about the project, Catherine Fitzpatrick, Founder & Director, Flequity Ventures said: “This research with victim-survivors was expertly facilitated within an ethical and trauma-informed framework by our project partners. It was complemented by insights from professionals who have between them more than 40 years experience working with men who use domestic abuse. This is an often overlooked part of the business response to domestic abuse, but it is an important input into consideration of customer service and accountability for perpetrators with safety at the heart.”

In response to the findings, Arca and its members have already undertaken to support victims and victim-survivors of domestic abuse, including advocacy for targeted regulatory relief and associated amendments to industry codes. Arca will be commencing broader stakeholder consultation in 2025.

The post Arca welcomes Parliamentary report on financial abuse and calls for greater industry collaboration appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Rebecca Glenn

A new report released today by the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety (CWES) calls for general insurers to disrupt domestic violence in Australia by re-designing products to prevent financial abuse.

Rebecca Glenn, CEO of CWES, says the second Designed to Disrupt discussion paper proposes a Financial Safety by Design framework for general insurers to make it harder for perpetrators to misuse products and services as a tactic of coercive control.

“We are seeing abusers use a range of tactics to manipulate insurance products to cause harm, including vehicle, home and contents, and personal insurance products,” Ms Glenn said.

“For example, perpetrators of abuse change or cancel joint policies without the knowledge of their partner or former partner, or redirect the payment of claims to accounts that partners do not know about or cannot access.

“In many cases, insurance policy terms and conditions prevent the payment of claims for damage caused by a policy holder. In instances where an abuser deliberately damages an asset covered by a joint policy, a victim-survivor may have an insurance claim denied.

“These actions may leave victim-survivors, usually women, in very difficult financial circumstances, with damaged assets and no recourse through insurance.

“But there are simple steps insurers can take to assist victim-survivors of financial abuse and to prevent it from occurring in the first place.”

The report makes 19 recommendations that aims to spark discussions with the 90 general insurers in Australia, plus government, regulators and consumer advocates. It calls for:

• All general insurers to close loopholes that enable perpetrators to cancel insurance policies without the knowledge or consent of victim-survivors
• The general insurance industry to include a ‘conduct of others’ clause as a standard, enabling victim-survivors to make a claim when perpetrators deliberately damage property
• The government to modernise the General Insurance Act so that products can be redesigned with features that protect against financial abuse.

Report author and UNSW School of Social Sciences Adjunct Associate Professor Catherine Fitzpatrick said, “General insurance is designed to provide financial protection from unexpected events. But too often victim-survivors of domestic and financial abuse find they don’t have the coverage they thought – either through deliberate tactics of perpetrators or due to common insurance rules and exclusions which penalise them.

“While insurers are making improvements, our research found a lack of consistency across the industry. This means some victim-survivors will receive support that is empathetic and trauma-informed, with flexibility that enables solutions tailored to their individual needs. Others continue to struggle with dismissive or judgmental staff, risks to their safety or compounding financial hardship.

“The Insurance Contracts Act needs to be modernised to strike a fairer deal for victim-survivors and create consistency across the sector, with a clear framework for insurance companies already working hard to update their policies, processes and practices to improve customer outcomes.

“If the law can contemplate foreseeable risks like floods, it could reasonably include the risk of domestic and financial abuse.”

Co-CEO of Financial Counselling Australia, Dr Domenique Meyrick said, “this significant report from CWES is anchored in lived experience and echoes what financial counsellors are seeing in their casework.

“There’s so much that the insurance sector can do to prevent its products from being weaponised and to support people affected by financial abuse.

“The Designed to Disrupt report on general insurance promises to be a powerful catalyst for change.”

Economic abuse includes financial abuse and is a form of domestic and family violence where a partner or family member exerts control through economic resources, including money, banking, insurance products, employment, transport and property, to limit a person’s autonomy and undermine their economic wellbeing.

At least 1.6 million women will experience economic abuse during the course of their life, with a direct cost to victim-survivors estimated to be $5.7 billion each year.

On International Women’s Day, the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety is urging general insurers to recognise how their products are misused and take strong action to prevent financial abuse.

Designed to Disrupt: Reimagining general insurance products to improve financial safety is the second in a series discussing how the finance sector can identify and mitigate the risks of financial abuse. It follows the launch of a 2022 paper looking at the banking industry. Since then,14 Australian banks have updated their terms and conditions to recognise financial abuse.

Read the report.

The post Report calls for re-design of insurance products and law modernisation to protect women from financial abuse appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Rebecca Glenn

The Centre for Women’s Economic Safety (CWES) has welcomed the move by another of Australia’s big four banks to address financial abuse in its Terms and Conditions.

ANZ has announced new Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) on its digital transaction and savings product which state that financial abuse is unacceptable conduct and that people who inflict financial abuse through the product may be warned or exited from the bank.

It follows announcements by NAB, Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank that they will change their terms and conditions on a range of bank products to address financial abuse.

The announcement comes in response to recommendations in the CWES’ Designed to Disrupt report, which called on banks to redesign products to improve financial safety.

CEO of CWES, Rebecca Glenn, says “All four of Australia’s big banks have now adopted the recommendation to change Terms and Conditions.

“This is a significant step in the right direction to explicitly challenge financially abusive behaviour.

“Any action banks can take to mitigate harm experienced by victim-survivors of financial abuse and make it harder for perpetrators to misuse products, is welcome news.”

Designed to Disrupt author and Adjunct Associate Professor at UNSW School of Social Sciences, Catherine Fitzpatrick, says “Customers of Australia’s major banks are now on notice that misusing their products and services as a tactic of coercive control is unacceptable.

“I’d encourage everyone to read the fine print of their bank accounts and ask their bank what they are doing to protect victim-survivors of financial abuse and to put perpetrators on notice. If all Australian banks followed the lead of the big four, it would send a clear message to the community that it’s not okay to control people through their access to money.”

Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin welcomed the announcement saying, “These are practical changes that will make a meaningful difference for people escaping violence.

“The four banks have shown real community leadership in recognising that the systems we build can be weaponised, and being proactive in redesigning those systems to prevent harm.”

Financial Counselling Australia CEO, Fiona Guthrie, says “Financial counsellors will be delighted that all of the major banks have acted to stamp out financial abuse by changing the terms and conditions of their products. Well done ANZ, Comm Bank, NAB and Westpac. 2

“We now call on the rest of the banking industry to make the same changes. It is never acceptable for people to use the banking system to perpetrate financial abuse. Sending someone an abusive message through a banking transaction is not a benign act. It is a deliberate strategy by the sender, often designed to harass, threaten or incite fear in the recipient.

“Changing the terms and conditions to be clear that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable is an important step in reducing family violence. But safety by design is an all encompassing approach. The next stage is for the banking industry to look at all of their products using a safety lens aiming to reduce, and if possible, prevent financial abuse.

“All of us have a role to play in reducing family violence and it is good to see the major banks playing their part.”

In its Designed to Disrupt report published late last year, CWES called on all Australian banks to redesign products to improve financial safety. It called for banks to start by changing their terms and conditions to make it clear that a bank account is no place for abuse and that they will take action against customers who misuse their products to cause harm.

In March, CWES conducted a desktop review of the T&Cs of the 20 Australian Banking Association (ABA) member banks to measure the baseline and found:

• None of the 20 banks referenced financial abuse in T&Cs.
• 9 banks describe the misuse of payment descriptions to send abuse as unacceptable behaviour.
• 6 banks describe the consequences for the misuse of payment descriptions to send abuse, with 4 citing it as a reason to close an account.

The Designed to Disrupt report draws on the eSafety Commission’s Safety by Design for the technology sector and proposes the finance sector commit to a tailored framework. The report outlines changes to financial product design to improve safety and counter the ways products are weaponised. For example, setting up every joint account with separate passwords, logins and portals for each person so it’s simpler and safer to separate if the relationship ends or is abusive.

The post Australia’s big four banks move against financial abuse appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Rebecca Glenn

Westpac has given its backing to a new report by the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety and will take action on key recommendations.

The detection and prevention of financial abuse is a priority for the bank and Westpac has already acted in key areas recommended by the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety. These include:

• 48,000+ transactions blocked containing abusive messages
• account terms and conditions have been adjusted to include reference to abusive transactions
• our Gambling Block feature helps customers plan and manage their personal credit and debit card spend by preventing the authorisation of gambling transactions
• product and design distribution processes are being improved to include Safety by Design principles, allowing more robust discussions about safeguarding our customers’ interests and taking action to prevent harm or misuse
• building stronger considerations of fairness and customer vulnerability into existing processes.

“We’ve been working for several years on helping prevent financial abuse and protecting our customers in vulnerable circumstances”, said Westpac’s General Manager, Customer Solutions, Lisa Pogonoski.

“This report shines a light on the issue and demonstrates why it must remain at the forefront for the entire industry. At Westpac, we’ve already acted on key recommendations and will accelerate steps to consider other areas identified for action.”

Westpac endorses the report’s findings, and has already acted on the following key principles:

• a bank account is no place for abuse
• financial abuse has serious impacts on victim-survivors
• customers who misuse products and services will be warned or exited from the bank
• in some circumstances, their tactics will be reported to law enforcement.

Today, Westpac is committing to further consideration of the report’s other findings, including:

• ensuring terms and conditions reflect our no tolerance approach to financial abuse
• as Chair of the Australian Banking Association, Westpac will encourage consideration of an industry-wide commitment to a financial Safety by Design framework.

“We commend Rebecca Glenn and Westpac’s former Customer Vulnerability Director Catherine Fitzpatrick for their work on this vitally important issue. Westpac will use the report to continue to improve the way we detect and prevent cases of financial abuse,” Ms Pogonoski said.

The post Westpac acting on women’s safety appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Catherine Fitzpatrick

Westpac has welcomed the Australian Banking Association’s (ABA) new guidelines encouraging banks to give customers in financial difficulty the option of using a savings buffer as part of the new Financial Difficulty Guidelines for member banks.

“Since leading the industry and introducing the savings buffer earlier this year, 535 customers have had a savings buffer built into their hardship agreements providing them with breathing space to save for unexpected expenses,” said Westpac’s Director of Customer Vulnerability and Financial Resilience, Catherine Fitzpatrick.

“We have been really encouraged by the results so far and are already seeing less customers falling back into repeat hardship,” she said.

In May, Westpac introduced a savings buffer for customers entering financial hardship agreements across mortgages, consumer credit products and some business loans.

“The savings buffer is a short-term strategy to help customers manage their finances used in conjunction with our existing hardship support.

“It helps these customers to keep extra money in their pockets to use as it best suits them – potentially for life events like medical emergencies, fixing a household appliance or a car breakdown, or even paying down their debts,” said Ms Fitzpatrick.

Westpac’s team of experienced hardship consultants work with customers individually to introduce a short-term savings buffer of at least $100 per month when calculating hardship payments, freeing up some money for urgent expenses, paying off higher interest debts or saving for a rainy day.

The savings buffer is used in conjunction with Westpac’s existing hardship support, which may include repayment deferrals, interest rate reductions, loan-term extensions, and referrals to financial counsellors.

The savings buffer is supported by Good Shepherd.

The post Westpac supports ABA’s new guidelines for banks helping customers in financial difficulty appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Catherine Fitzpatrick

Westpac has introduced a new blocking mechanism in its online and mobile banking platforms which will allow customers to restrict their spend with gambling merchants.

The new digital feature means customers can apply the block in real-time to any personal Westpac credit card or Debit Mastercard, where the transaction is processed through Mastercard.

Westpac’s Director of Customer Vulnerability and Financial Resilience Catherine Fitzpatrick said the new feature is already delivering a significant benefit for customers who need it.

“The flexibility and ease of being able to apply an instant block through digital banking has meant more than 2,500 customers have already accessed this new feature since it went live last month.

“The new feature complements our existing service where customers can also call us to request a gambling block to be applied to their card to stop certain transactions, including at casinos, sports betting agencies and online gambling.

“We know that problem gambling is a serious community issue. The introduction of the digital gambling block is a further step in providing customers choice and convenience to manage their spending,” she said.

The gambling block feature follows other recent measures aimed at making digital banking safer for customers – including giving customers the ability to report abusive messages via online and mobile banking, and blocking inappropriate language from outgoing payments.

Gambling Help Online provides free, confidential support for anyone affected by gambling and can be contacted on 1800 858 858 or via www.gamblinghelponline.org.au.

The post Westpac launches real-time digital gambling block for customers appeared first on AdviserVoice.