A parliamentary committee has launched an inquiry into the hidden problem of financial abuse in Australia, which has been described as a form of domestic violence that often goes undetected.

The inquiry has been launched by the chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, Senator Deborah O’Neill, and committee member Zaneta Mascarenhas, to help bring the issue into the public consciousness. It will examine the role financial institutions need to play in detecting and preventing financial abuse.

Financial abuse is where a perpetrator seeks to control or sabotage their partner’s financial resources, and experts say the behaviour can be a precursor to domestic or family violence.

“Financial abuse is a form of family and domestic violence. The insidious nature of financial abuse means that it often goes undetected, leaving those who experience it unsupported and the issue itself shielded from public view,” O’Neill said.

“With the shift to online services, we need to investigate how family and domestic violence has shifted there too, and whether our regulatory systems are equipped to adequately deal with it.”

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The inquiry is expected to examine the effectiveness of existing laws and how they govern the ability of banks to deal with financial abuse, as well as potential areas for reform.

It will also consider steps that might help the banks to detect financial abuse more effectively.

“After hearing many stories of financial abuse in the community, I wanted to bring this issue to parliament and to national attention,” Mascarenhas said.