The national Economic Abuse Reference Group’s strategic plan will guide the network’s policy priorities and advocacy for 2026-27. Our priorities are informed by the network’s expertise and prior advocacy, with a focus on implementing the recommendations from the parliamentary inquiry into financial abuse in 2024 and the Federal Government’s commitments to law reform in 2025.
EARG will lead national advocacy on:
- Implementing the Federal Government’s commitment to prevent perpetrators from using the tax and corporate systems to create debts as a form of coercive control, initially focusing on victim survivors who are coerced into being company directors – read our submission to Treasury and our research on coerced business debts
- Implementing the Federal Government’s commitment to prevent perpetrators from receiving their victim’s superannuation after death
- Closing loopholes that allow perpetrators to misuse government systems as a tool of abuse by contributing to the Office for Women’s audit of Australian Government Systems
- Improving banking processes and joint accounts as recommended by the parliamentary inquiry into financial abuse
- Improving mortgage accessibility to keep victim survivors and their children living in their homes after separation, where possible
- Developing a more robust and connected ecosystem of support services for victim survivors of economic abuse
- Developing a national scorecard comparing responses to economic abuse between states, across areas such as fines, vehicle registration, debt collection, legal recognition and compensation
EARG will support its members to lead advocacy on:
- Child support reforms to prevent payments being withheld as a tool of economic abuse (led by the Non-Payment of Child Support Working Group) – read more
- Social security reforms to ensure victim survivors are not held liable for Centrelink debts accrued due to economic abuse (led by Economic Justice Australia) – read more
- Direct regulation of the telecommunications sector to provide better protections for consumers, including victim survivors of economic abuse (as part of the Fair Call Coalition led by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network) – read more
- Superannuation reforms to prevent super being used a tool of economic abuse (led by Super Consumers Australia) – read more
- Improving processes for correcting victim survivors’ credit reports after economic abuse (led by Financial Rights Legal Centre) – read our Credit Reporting & Economic Abuse guide
- Bankruptcy reforms to improve outcomes for victim survivors made bankrupt due to economic abuse (led by Financial Rights Legal Centre) – read more
EARG will continue to monitor developments and provide expertise as required on:
- Domestic and family violence policies adopted by financial institutions, federal and state government agencies, telecommunications providers, ombudsman schemes and essential services providers
- The implementation of new Buy Now Pay Later laws that came into effect in June 2025
- The implementation of family law changes that came into effect in June 2025, recognising the impact of economic abuse in family law financial settlements
- The implementation of state-based coercive control legislation