We all know someone who has lived this story. Maybe it’s a friend who went quiet, a family member who lost their home, or a neighbour who was forced back to an abuser because they simply couldn’t afford the cost of being free.

In my work as a Mortgage Broker, I see the cold mechanics of debt every day. But I am also a survivor who has lived this reality. I have stood where there were no paths out, fighting tooth and nail to reclaim my name from a system that, by design, prioritises corporate greed over human survival. I know firsthand that when the system isn't built to assist you, the weight of debt isn't just a number—it’s a life sentence. I can’t sit silently any longer. I can’t remain complicit in this fundamentally flawed system filled with injustice towards our most vulnerable. 

The Reality: Deception and Financial Entrapment

Too often, victims of domestic violence (DV) face an overwhelming nightmare where partners have deceitfully accumulated debts in their name without their knowledge. This is a calculated weaponisation of trust and identity.

 

Consider the Daily Trap: An abuser gains access to their partner’s ID and personal details to forge signatures on credit cards or car loans. In many cases, it is as simple—and as cruel—as editing a digital document to add a partner's signature to a second mortgage or a commercial lease without them ever seeing the paperwork. By the time the survivor finds the strength to leave, they realise they are legally tied to a mountain of debt for assets they don't own and money they never spent.

 

The Failure of "Human Decency"

The most heart-wrenching part of this trap is that the majority of victims do not want to go down the legal avenue. They don't want to spend years in a courtroom facing their abuser; they simply want to move on with their lives. Because the system offers no other way out, they unwillingly accept that their lives will never be the same.

This isn't justice—it’s manipulation. It allows perpetrators to reel their victims back in, hook, line, and sinker, by weaponising the survivor's need for love and stability against them. Currently, the ATO and financial institutions effectively tell survivors that unless they fight a gruelling legal battle, they must remain burdened with debt. For many, this is the difference between future survival and the darkness of self-harm.

Our Demands: Legislative Change is Crucial

We are demanding that the government recognise that financial freedom is a pivotal component of recovery and personal safety. 

The proposal:

• Compassionate Debt Waivers (No Court Required): Mandate the ATO and large financial institutions to waive debts on compassionate grounds without forcing survivors through a years-long legal battle or criminal prosecution

 

• The "Survivor Support" Tax Offset/Credit: We propose a mechanism where companies that actively assist DV survivors by waiving coerced debt can receive a tax offset—similar to R&D Tax Credits. These debts are often written off as bad debt anyway; the government should incentivise corporations to do what is inherently good by making these waivers a dollar-for-dollar tax benefit.

 

• Commercial & Consumer Reform: Close the loophole where business debts are used as a weapon. Legislation must recognise forgery and coercion as a valid defence against all forms of liability.

 

• A Pathway to Avoid Bankruptcy: We need a mechanism to wipe the slate clean and provide a "Fresh Start" without the long-term stigma of bankruptcy that prevents future housing and employment.

 

• Targeting the "Big End of Town": This legislation targets large corporations and the ATO who can afford to prioritise human lives. To protect the economy, this excludes small businesses (fewer than 20 employees or turnover under $1 million).

The time to act is now. Australia’s billion-dollar institutions make enough profit to save a life. No one should be forced to carry the financial wreckage created by an abuser whom they were unlucky enough to be preyed upon by. Labor have a massive majority in parliament, use it to do some good to protect our fellow Australians who are already dealing with the trauma and abuse committed by someone who exploited their love. 

Please sign this petition to give survivors the support they need to leave the trauma exactly where it belongs—in the past.