What is financial abuse?

Financial abuse is when someone:

A montage of 3 images. The first is a man looking stressed, looking in his wallet. The second is a woman holding out her hand to say stop. The third is a girl pointing at the camera to say you.

takes your money
stops you having a say in how your money is spent
makes you pay for other people's things

All of these things are wrong.

Anyone could do this, including:

A montage of 6 images. The first is a girl and an older woman sitting together and talking. The second is a group of young men standing together outside and talking. The third is a woman with her hand on the shoulder of another woman in a wheelchair. The fourth is 3 young people in a kitchen. The fifth is a group of staff members having a meeting at work. The sixth is a group of people sitting together outside.

family
friends
carers or other people who support you
neighbours or people you live with
people you work with
members of your community.

What is mate crime?

A man in a thinking pose with a thought bubble with his friends in it

Mate crime is when people you think are your friends take advantage of you.

Mate crime can be when:

A montage of 3 images. The first is a young man looking at his phone. The second is a man and a woman watching a movie in the cinemas. The third is a group of young people having dinner in a restaurant.

a friend always borrows your phone and uses all the credit
a friend takes you out and spends all your money
you are always the person who pays for dinner or drinks.

Things to remember

A group of friends walking together in a park with a cross above them.

Not all your friends want to take advantage of you.

Your friends are probably good friends.

A girl holding her hand out to say stop.

But it is ok to speak up if someone is not treating you fairly.

A woman with one hand raised and the other on her chest.

You have rights and people should believe what you tell them.

You might feel too scared to:

A young man putting his hand up to say something

speak out

A woman putting her hand out to say stop

stop them.

A young man shrugging with his hands in the air

You might not know how to get help.

A woman has her hand over her mouth while another woman is talking to her

They might make it hard for you to tell anyone.

If financial abuse or mate crime happens, it is important to speak out.

You should tell someone you trust.

Who can help you?

Exclamation mark inside a circle and a phone icon

If you have been financially abused call the WA Police on

13 1444

An advocate is a person who can help you or speak up for you.

If you would like support from an advocate, call People With disabilities WA on

(08) 9420 7279

1800 193 331

If you want to make a complaint about a disability service, contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission:

1800 035 544

contactcentre@ndiscommission.gov.au

www.ndiscommission.gov.au

An icon of a person looking sad with a phone icon

If you want to report financial abuse, call the Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline on

1800 880 052

Gavin's Story

I live in a group home and, sometimes, I like to go out on my own with my mates, without my support workers.

Matt has always been one of my best mates. But last year, he lost his job and, since then, he hasn't had much money. He started asking me to pay for everything. This was ok at first because I had some savings but now I haven't got much money left.

One time, Matt took me out and he got really drunk, He left me in a hotel room by myself. I didn't know how to get home and I had to pay the bill. It was really expensive.

My support workers were really worried when I didn't come home on time. I told them what happened. They spoke to my family and we've agreed that Matt can't take me out anymore. I'd still like to hang out with him so it's ok if he comes over to my house and we play video games. But he can't take me out to pubs or hotels, and I can't lend him any money.

I feel much safer now. I'm glad I asked for help.

How to get help

Download the factsheet

Print this page to PDF