CommBank Next Chapter: Supporting Pathways to Financial Independence
| Tuesday, November 25, 2025 |
| 9:15 AM - 9:45 AM |
Overview
Moderator:
Caroline Wall, Head of Customer Vulnerability, Commonwealth Bank
Panelists:
Julie Kun, Director of Julie Kun Consultancy and Acting CEO of Women with Disabilities Victoria
Erin Price, General Manager National Family Violence & Recovery Platform for Good Shepherd ANZ
Lula Dembele, Good Shepherd ANZ
Details
Presentation Key Learnings
The complexity of financial abuse and pathways towards financial security of victim survivors
Support available for victim survivors of domestic violence and financial abuse, through CommBank Next Chapter, regardless of who they bank with
The transformative impact of the Good Shepherd Financial Independence Hub in supporting long term recovery of victim survivors of financial abuse, also available to anyone regardless of who they bank with
Speaker
Lula Dembele
Good Shepherd ANZ
CommBank Next Chapter: Supporting Pathways to Financial Independence
Biography
Julie Kun
Director & CEO
Julie Kun Consultancy & Women with Disabilities Victoria
CommBank Next Chapter: Supporting Pathways to Financial Independence
Presentation Overview
Five years ago, in 2020 the Commonwealth Bank launched Next Chapter - a long-term commitment to shine a light on the hidden epidemic of financial abuse in the context of domestic and family violence and support people on their road to long-term financial independence.
CommBank Next Chapter focusses on action in three key areas: leading the industry in providing care for customers impacted by domestic violence and financial abuse, expanding support for long-term recovery and helping to raise public awareness and increase action in response to the issue.
In this panel discussion we will share insights from a new report “Financial security pathways after economic abuse: ‘It is a full time job’, funded by CommBank Next Chapter Innovation in partnership with Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre, a major project of the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre, and the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety (CWES). This report highlights the highly complex and challenging pathways for victim-survivors of economic abuse to achieve financial security. It provides recommendations for an improved framework based on consultations with victim-survivors, academics, and service professionals. The panel will spotlight the report’s specific focus on older women, women with disabilities, and single mothers, as they face significant barriers to achieving financial security after experiencing financial abuse.
Through Next Chapter, CommBank is committed to helping end financial abuse and supporting people impacted, regardless of who they bank with.
The panel will also highlight the Financial Independence Hub (FIH), funded by CommBank Next Chapter and delivered by Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand. The FIH has recently achieved a significant milestone of supporting more than 11,000 participants take steps towards recovery from financial abuse. We will share stories of resilience and courage and the transformative impact of the support from FIH from a new report ‘Financial Independence – stories of resilience and courage’ produced jointly by CommBank Next Chapter and Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand.
CommBank Next Chapter focusses on action in three key areas: leading the industry in providing care for customers impacted by domestic violence and financial abuse, expanding support for long-term recovery and helping to raise public awareness and increase action in response to the issue.
In this panel discussion we will share insights from a new report “Financial security pathways after economic abuse: ‘It is a full time job’, funded by CommBank Next Chapter Innovation in partnership with Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre, a major project of the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre, and the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety (CWES). This report highlights the highly complex and challenging pathways for victim-survivors of economic abuse to achieve financial security. It provides recommendations for an improved framework based on consultations with victim-survivors, academics, and service professionals. The panel will spotlight the report’s specific focus on older women, women with disabilities, and single mothers, as they face significant barriers to achieving financial security after experiencing financial abuse.
Through Next Chapter, CommBank is committed to helping end financial abuse and supporting people impacted, regardless of who they bank with.
The panel will also highlight the Financial Independence Hub (FIH), funded by CommBank Next Chapter and delivered by Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand. The FIH has recently achieved a significant milestone of supporting more than 11,000 participants take steps towards recovery from financial abuse. We will share stories of resilience and courage and the transformative impact of the support from FIH from a new report ‘Financial Independence – stories of resilience and courage’ produced jointly by CommBank Next Chapter and Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand.
Biography
Julie Kun, works on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation , is Director of Julie Kun Consultancy and Acting CEO of Women with Disabilities Victoria. Julie’s career focuses on intersectional, evidence-informed strategies to combat economic abuse and promote social justice by engaging the heart, mind, and hands to care, inform, and act. Julie supports organisations in building a gender-equitable society free from violence and oppression. Highlights include at the Australian Services
Union leading the strategic campaign for the world’s first family violence leave clause in an industrial agreement and supporting and developing evidence-informed victim-survivor centred economic abuse work. Former CEO of WIRE, Julie also is the Chair of Gender Equity Victoria
Erin Price
General Manager National Family Violence & Recovery Platform
National Family Violence & Recovery Platform for Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand
CommBank Next Chapter: Supporting Pathways to Financial Independence
Biography
Erin Price is the General Manager National Family Violence & Recovery Platform for Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand. Erin is a values-driven leader with extensive experience in the family violence and broader community services sector. With a strong foundation in the specialist family violence field, she has spent the majority of her career leading teams and services dedicated to supporting victim-survivors, while also contributing her leadership across diverse social service areas including housing and homelessness, youth services, Out of Home Care, disability, and training and education. In 2016, Erin was awarded a Fellowship through the International Specialised Skills Institute, enabling her to undertake international research into best practice social enterprise models and trauma-informed approaches to care.
Mrs Caroline Wall
Head Of Customer Vulnerability
Cba
CommBank Next Chapter: Supporting Pathways to Financial Independence
Biography
Caroline Wall is the Head of Customer Vulnerability at CBA, where she leads pioneering work to protect customers from financial abuse and technology-facilitated harm. She spearheads CBA’s response to abuse in transaction descriptions, implementing artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect abusive behaviour and support impacted customers. She is a driving force behind embedding Safety by Design principles into CBA’s banking systems, ensuring products and services are flexible, secure, and cannot be weaponised to cause harm. With a strong focus on safe service design, Caroline collaborates across teams to embed vulnerability awareness into policy, product, training, and frontline practices. The work that she leads supports CBA’s Next Chapter program, which supports people across Australia who have been impacted by financial abuse.
