29 November 2016: Financial Counselling Australia welcomes the pledge from the State, Territories and Federal Government to establish a strong consumer protection framework for online gambling. “We congratulate Minister Alan Tudge in developing this framework in a consultative way and for doing it quickly. Although there is still a lot…
30th November 2016 - Financial counsellors - who help hundreds of Australians with financial services disputes each year - have provided overwhelming support for the merger of the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Credit & Investments Ombudsman into a one stop financial complaints ombudsman service. Seventy-five percent of financial counsellors…
21st October 2016 - To coincide with anti-poverty week, Financial Counselling Australia has today released “Financial Counselling: It Makes a Difference” a compendium of 65 case studies from the files of financial counsellors. Many people don’t know or understand what a financial counsellor does - they are often confused with…
8th July 2016 - FCA has today released a consultation paper “Everyone Needs a Savings Buffer”. We put the paper together because of concerns that people experiencing financial hardship and trying to repay their debts, are not able to put aside any money for a “rainy day”. At the moment,…
13th June 2016 - On behalf of the financial counselling sector, Financial Counselling Australia congratulates Betty Weule on receiving an honour in today’s Queens Birthday honours list. Betty is being made a Member of the Order of Australia. The citation for the order is “for significant service to social welfare,…
10th June 2016 - Financial Counselling Australia welcomes today’s Federal Court judgment that will see betting giant Bet365 pay a $2.75 million fine for engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct. In September 2015, the Federal Court found that Bet365’s offer of “$200 FREE BETS FOR NEW CUSTOMERS” was misleading and…
3rd May 2016 - Financial counsellors welcome with relief the May budget announcement that $7.1 million in funding for 50 problem gambling positions will be continued. On behalf of the State and Territory financial counselling associations and financial counselling agencies around Australia, we thank the Government for their continued support for…
28th April 2016 - Financial Counselling Australia welcomes today’s announcement by the Federal Government to rein in online sports betting, putting consumer protection at the heart of its response. We commend the government for its plan to introduce a national consumer protection framework within 12 months covering: A national self-exclusion…
A report released today by FCA, “Problem Gambling Financial Counselling: Survey and Case Studies” shows the devastating impact of problem gambling on individuals and families. The report also highlights the important role of financial counselling in helping people get back on track financially and emotionally. Gambling is ruining people’s lives – people…
20th April 2016 - Today’s announcement of a user-pays funding model for ASIC – effectively a levy on the banking industry – is good news for ASIC, but a missed opportunity for financial counselling. The user-pays model should also be extended to include funding for free financial counselling. Financial counsellors…