Experiences of economic abuse often reach a crisis point when the coercive control or violence escalates, and/or the money runs out, and/or the debt collectors become hard to ignore. But experience has shown that getting through the crisis period is just the first step. Then there's a period of recovery which can be an ongoing process.

Rebuilding after economic abuse can look very different for different people, and is almost never a linear process. For some people, simply being free of the abuser creates enough space to rebuild financially. This won't be the case for everyone.

Importantly, there are now people and organisations who can support you through this process, depending on your situation.

If you haven't previously had an opportunity to learn about money, or you want to build on your existing knowledge and skills, there are a range of financial literacy courses available online and in person. You can explore some of these in our Directory of Services, under Financial Literacy and Wellbeing.

The Financial Independence Hub run by Good Shepherd nationally as part of Commonwealth Bank's Next Chapter initiative provides free financial coaching to people who have experienced financial abuse to support you plan for the future.

Employment is often a key component of rebuilding financial independence. If you haven't worked in some time (or ever), there are several initiatives which can support you to become job-ready. Explore the Employment section of the Directory of Services.

If you want to read about other people's experiences of economic abuse and recovery, you can see these the CWES website and Insight Exchange website.