The federal government’s draft plan to end violence against women and children says that “coercive control” - a pattern of behaviour to maintain over a victim - can include financial abuse. The draft plan includes a focus on having sectors including policing, justice, finance and information technology develop responses to financial abuse.

Violence prevention expert Moo Baulch, who also advises CBA, backed the government’s draft plan on Thursday. Ms Baulch told Minister for Social Services Anne Ruston, who also attended the event, that the draft plan would probably cost billions of dollars to implement.

“It’s going to cost a lot of money, Minister, I’m not sure if you’re aware what you’ve committed to with this one. I think we’re talking billions here, really,” said Ms Baulch, director of primary prevention at the Women’s and Girls’ Emergency Centre.

Mr Comyn also said dealing with financial abuse and the wider issue of domestic violence would cost billions.

“It’s going to be a multi-billion dollar investment that’s required across both governments, clearly across financial institutions, but the private sector more broadly, not for profit, working with academia,” he said.