Islamic finance, law, and women’s financial inclusion in Australia

Muslim women in Australia experience layered forms of financial exclusion shaped by the intersection of gender, religion, migration, race, and socio-economic position. These intersecting dynamics are reinforced by Australia's secular, market-oriented financial system, which offers limited regulatory recognition of Islamic financial principles. This article undertakes a doctrinal and regulatory analysis of Islamic finance in Australia, focusing on qard hasan (benevolent loans) and waqf (charitable endowments), to assess both their potential and structural constraints as mechanisms of financial inclusion. Drawing on an integrated frame work combining intersectionality, Critical Discourse Studies, and framing theory, the article analyses how legal and regulatory discourses construct Muslim women as financial subjects in a Muslim-minority context. It shows that financial exclusion is not only about access to products, but is embedded in regulatory design and assumptions about the ‘neutral’ financial actor. A comparative reference to the United Kingdom illustrates how different regulatory approaches shape the accommodation of faith-based finance. The analysis finds that, without institutional recognition, Islamic financial instruments remain marginal in Australia, shifting the burden of reconciling religious obligations onto individuals. Meaningful financial inclusion therefore requires institutional and discursive reform.