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Industry super lobby rallies behind aid for domestic violence victims

$10,000 in emergency funds could break cycles of violence, funds say.

$10,000 in emergency funds could break cycles of violence, funds say. Photo: Getty

The lobby group for industry super funds has backed a proposal to give $10,000 superannuation to mothers fleeing domestic violence.

Industry Super Australia issued a statement on Tuesday saying it fully supported the measure proposed by HESTA, an industry fund with a large female membership.

“When state-funded support fails, allowing access to super in special circumstances could mean the difference between someone seeking vital help or not,” ISA public affairs director Matt Linden said.

HESTA, the industry fund for health workers, proposed earlier this week that victims of family violence be allowed to withdraw up to $10,000 from their superannuation savings.

This would require an amendment to the Superannuation Industry Supervision Regulations (1994) to include family violence and financial abuse as compassionate grounds for early super access.

Compassionate grounds are currently limited to financial emergencies such as mortgage payments, medical treatment, palliative care and a dependent’s funeral costs.

HESTA chief executive Debby Blakey said a $10,000 boost could be the difference between a woman staying in a violent relationship or leaving.

“We think it’s entirely appropriate that super regulations extend compassion to victims and survivors of family violence to empower women with the financial means to escape abusive relationships,” Ms Blakey said in a statement.

HESTA led the charge on the issue because more than 80 per cent of the fund’s 820,000 members are female.

The fund acknowledged that using superannuation for a purpose other than retirement was far from ideal, and was only intended as a “band aid” measure while state and federal governments worked to combat the root causes of the problem.

“Women already retire with almost half the super of men, and they shouldn’t have to use their super for this purpose. But family violence is one of the rare situations in which short-term financial needs are more compelling than the need to preserve superannuation for retirement,” Ms Blakey said.

Aside from HESTA, Industry Super Australia represents 14 other industry funds, which means a consensus is building inside the not-for-profit sector for the measure to be adopted.

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