Domestic and Family Violence
TAL's commitment to the safety of our customersAre you experiencing domestic or family violence?
It is a tough topic to talk about, but domestic and family violence is a key social issue. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 20% of Australians over the age of 15 have experienced or currently are experiencing some form of domestic or family violence.
At TAL, we recognise that everyone’s situation and needs are different. We are committed to making our customers and employees feel safe, respected and supported if they experience domestic or family violence and need assistance.
If you would like to have a confidential discussion with us about your situation, contact us and we can take you through your options.
If there is an immediate threat to you or your loved ones, please call emergency services on 000.
Quick ExitWhat is domestic or family violence?
Domestic and family violence can affect anyone.
Family violence involves violent, threatening or other behaviour that coerces or controls a member of the person’s family or causes the family member to be fearful. Domestic violence involves behaviour within an intimate relationship (including current or past marriages, domestic partnerships or dates) that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm.
Coercive control, a key aspect of family and domestic violence, involves sustained abusive behaviours (which can be physical or non-physical) to instil fear and limit autonomy.
What is financial abuse?
Financial abuse is a type of family violence that affects a person's financial situation. It involves control and manipulation, often occurring in conjunction with other forms of violence such as physical violence and intimidation. Although financial abuse can affect anyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, culture, class, or age, women and children are more frequently affected.
It can manifest as physical abuse, intimidation, coercion, isolation, emotional abuse, and financial control.
Financial abuse involves controlling finances to exploit or sabotage an individual's ability to acquire, use, and maintain financial resources, thereby threatening their financial security and independence.
Some signs of financial abuse are when a person:
- controls your access to money – such as restricts your access to bank accounts, credit cards or cash, or makes you seek permission to use your own money
- refuses to spend their own money on expenses you incur together – such as your joint living expenses, rent or mortgage, or the costs of raising your children
- uses your money without your knowledge or consent – such as paying for things using your account or card, or making transfers from your bank account
- pressures you to sign or forges your signature on financial documents – such as forces you to sign or forges your signature on documents required to take out loans or credit cards in your name
- threatens or punishes you - such as hurts or threatens you if you don’t give them money, or questions or punishes your spending in a way that makes you feel guilty or that you can’t be trusted with money.
More information can be found on the Moneysmart website
How we can help you
Managing your insurance policy
Most life insurance policies are owned by the person whose life is insured under the policy, or by the trustee of an APRA-regulated superannuation fund. In these cases, you can make changes to your insurance by contacting your insurer or your super fund.
However, in some cases a life insurance policy can be:
- jointly owned, such as by two people who are a couple
- cross owned, where one person owns a policy over the life of another person (such as their partner), or
- owned by the trustees of a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF), who are often members of the same family.
In the event of domestic or family violence, financial abuse or coercive control, you may no longer feel comfortable with this policy ownership arrangement, and may wish to change it.
If this happens to you, we encourage you to contact us. We will be able to assist you by explaining what needs to happen for the ownership of the policy to be changed, or if you decide to do so, explaining how you may apply to take out your own policy. We can also connect you with services that may be able to assist you.
Where negotiating changes to a life insurance policy owned this way is unsuccessful, other options may still be available to you. For example, the Federal and Family Courts can make orders specifying how a life insurance policy is to be varied following the breakdown of a relationship. A family lawyer can help you to navigate this process.
A beneficiary is a person who is nominated to receive the proceeds of your life insurance policy if you pass away.
It is important to understand and regularly re-evaluate your beneficiary nominations so that they remain up to date and reflect your wishes. You should also consider this when experiencing a relationship breakdown or family and domestic violence. Beneficiaries can be easily updated through myTAL, and a financial adviser or member of the TAL team can guide you through this in a secure and private way. If you have a life insurance policy through your superannuation fund, contact your fund for information about how to update your beneficiaries.
If you make a claim due to an illness or injury, in explaining the claims process we will cover who the claim will be paid to and any correspondence that will be issued.
The safety of our customers is paramount, which is why when you correspond with us, your privacy and safety are our top priority. It is important that you keep your correspondence preferences with TAL up to date and let us know if there are safer ways to communicate with you, such as:
- which contact methods and times are safe or unsafe
- whether it is safe to leave phone messages;
- if there is a suitable or safer day or time to talk;
- whether correspondence needs to be sent to a different address; and
- whether you’d like to nominate a support person who can communicate with us on your behalf.
Resources & support services
TAL Domestic and Family Violence Policy
We are here to help
Domestic and family violence can affect anyone. We are committed to supporting customers who may be impacted by domestic or family violence to the best of our ability.
This policy has been developed to promote the safety of our customers and outlines the ways we can assist impacted customers.