QLD
Magistrates Court of Queensland, Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 Bench Book (2025).
Chapter 1.3.5 discusses the nature of behaviours described as economic abuse. Chapter 1.3 more broadly discusses the nature of behaviours described as domestic violence.
Vic
Judicial College of Victoria, Family Violence Bench Book (2014).
The Victorian Bench Book identifies economic abuse as a behaviour of family violence in 5.2.1 – Economic abuse. Also see: 1.1 - Economic abuse defining economic abuse in terms of coercion and control, and list a range of examples of this form of behaviour.
WA
Department of Justice (WA), Equal Justice Bench Book (2nd edition September 2021).
This Bench Book notes the definition of domestic violence used by the Department of Child Protection and Family Support which includes: “…Financial violence includes not giving a woman access to her share of the family's resources, expecting her to manage the household on an impossibly low amount of money and/or criticising and blaming her when she is unable to, monitoring her spending, and incurring debts in her name.” (at [13.2.3]). It also notes that women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds may experience dowry abuse, which “may be a coercive demand for larger gifts or more cash from a woman and her family, which may be accompanied by other forms of violence including emotional or economic abuse, stalking or harassment. It may also include mutilation, sexual assault, acid throwing, wife burning, murder, threats to cancel visa sponsorship, threats to annul a marriage, abandonment and demands to terminate a pregnancy (at [13.2.3]).
Canada
Neilson, Linda C, Domestic Violence Electronic Bench Book (National Judicial Institute, 2020).
Economic and financial abuse is referred to throughout this Bench Book. The interconnection of financial abuse with other behaviours is noted in Section 9.3.1.2, while the act of perpetrators refusing to honour financial and cost obligations is discussed at length in Section 7.4.6. For instance, ‘[v]iolators avoid compliance with financial obligations as a means to continue to control and harass. Yet financial abuse is as much abuse of any dependent child as it is abuse of the targeted parent … Timely disclosure and payment of support and marital property obligations can help to prevent pressure, as a result of lack of resources, to return to violent homes. Support and property division orders become critically important when custodial parents are in the process of immigrating, since economic self-sufficiency can be an important factor in allowing such persons to remain in Canada’. A number of responses to violators who engage in this form of abuse are also identified in this section. Reference 3.
QLD
Magistrates Court of Queensland, Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 Bench Book (2025).
Chapter 1.3.5 discusses the nature of behaviours described as economic abuse. Chapter 1.3 more broadly discusses the nature of behaviours described as domestic violence.
Vic
Judicial College of Victoria, Family Violence Bench Book (2014).
The Victorian Bench Book identifies economic abuse as a behaviour of family violence in 5.2.1 – Economic abuse. Also see: 1.1 - Economic abuse defining economic abuse in terms of coercion and control, and list a range of examples of this form of behaviour.
WA
Department of Justice (WA), Equal Justice Bench Book (2nd edition September 2021).
This Bench Book notes the definition of domestic violence used by the Department of Child Protection and Family Support which includes: “…Financial violence includes not giving a woman access to her share of the family's resources, expecting her to manage the household on an impossibly low amount of money and/or criticising and blaming her when she is unable to, monitoring her spending, and incurring debts in her name.” (at [13.2.3]). It also notes that women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds may experience dowry abuse, which “may be a coercive demand for larger gifts or more cash from a woman and her family, which may be accompanied by other forms of violence including emotional or economic abuse, stalking or harassment. It may also include mutilation, sexual assault, acid throwing, wife burning, murder, threats to cancel visa sponsorship, threats to annul a marriage, abandonment and demands to terminate a pregnancy (at [13.2.3]).
Canada
Neilson, Linda C, Domestic Violence Electronic Bench Book (National Judicial Institute, 2020).
Economic and financial abuse is referred to throughout this Bench Book. The interconnection of financial abuse with other behaviours is noted in Section 9.3.1.2, while the act of perpetrators refusing to honour financial and cost obligations is discussed at length in Section 7.4.6. For instance, ‘[v]iolators avoid compliance with financial obligations as a means to continue to control and harass. Yet financial abuse is as much abuse of any dependent child as it is abuse of the targeted parent … Timely disclosure and payment of support and marital property obligations can help to prevent pressure, as a result of lack of resources, to return to violent homes. Support and property division orders become critically important when custodial parents are in the process of immigrating, since economic self-sufficiency can be an important factor in allowing such persons to remain in Canada’. A number of responses to violators who engage in this form of abuse are also identified in this section. Reference 3.