Kelly, a Sydneysider who asked not to use her full name, left an abusive relationship with thousands of dollars in debt that her ex-husband had racked up. She said he took money meant for rent and living expenses to feed his drug addiction, forcing her to take out loans to care for the family of six.
"When I got out of the relationship, I had nothing," she said. "I had no money; I was just trying to support myself and my kids."
Kelly said the tenancy was in her name, and the property manager pursued her for unpaid rent after her ex-husband assured her he had paid the bills. "I had no idea," she said. "My kids needed stuff for school and I couldn't afford it."
The turning point came when her eldest child warned her: "He's trying to kill us, Mum." That spurred her to leave, she said.
Legal Aid NSW's Domestic Violence Unit helped Kelly have $12,500 in debt waived by lenders and other organisations. "They really helped me," she said. "I'm not able to go back to work."
Legal Aid NSW described financial abuse as a "pattern of control, exploitation or sabotage of finances, affecting a person's capacity to make, spend and save money". Across the 2025-26 financial year, the organisation said it had helped victim-survivors clear almost $200,000 in debt stemming from such abuse.