16th December 2014 - Financial Counselling Australia has welcomed ‘Dealing with debt collectors: Your rights and responsibilities', released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last week. The overwhelming majority of consumers want to pay their debts, but unfortunately some people, often due to a…
15 December 2014 - Community organisations today have welcomed AGL Energy Limited’s (AGL) $6m commitment to provide greater support for vulnerable energy customers. Brotherhood of St Laurence, Financial Counselling Australia, Kildonan UnitingCare, Queensland Council of Social Service, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, South Australia Council of Social Service and St Vincent…
9th September 2014 - Financial Counselling Australia congratulates the financial counsellors who received awards as part of MoneySmart Week. The Salvation Army’s MoneyCare financial counselling service in Newcastle received the highest honour in the community category, with an outstanding achievement award. Their You’re the Boss program, set up by financial counsellor Kirsten Harnett, is a…
Thursday, 21 August 2014 - Veda Advantage Ltd, a company which stores the credit history of millions of Australians, has been accused of breaching new credit reporting laws by promoting its $79.95 credit report at the expense of the free credit report it is legally required to offer. Consumer advocates say…
24th June 2014 - Consumer advocates and financial counsellors have applauded Federal Parliament’s move to stop the Australian Financial Security Authority charging individuals $120 to declare bankruptcy. The fee, introduced in April, caused wide-spread concern among consumer advocates and financial counsellors who argued it would act as a roadblock for…
22nd June 2014 - Financial Counselling Australia has today released “Too Poor to Go Bankrupt: The Impact of the New Fee for Lodging a Debtor’s Petition”. The report describes the results of a survey of financial counsellors about the impact of the $120 fee for lodging a debtor’s petition for…
4th June 2014 - Last week the Productivity Commission released a hugely important report documenting the literacy and numeracy of adult Australians. The report has received hardly any media attention[1] but should be a wake-up call for all of us - the community sector, industry and government – about how we communicate…
19th May 2014 - Four hundred financial counsellors will converge on Melbourne this Tuesday for the annual Financial Counselling Australia Conference. With the assistance and renewed funding from the Federal Government, financial counsellors will provide free and independent advice and support to over 220,000 cash-strapped Australians this financial year. Fiona Guthrie,…
16th May 2014 - Financial counsellors around Australia have welcomed continued funding for financial counselling services in the Commonwealth Budget. The mood is one of relief, rather than celebration however. The last few months have been particularly difficult for the sector, with the potential for 350 financial counsellors to lose their…
Good news - after a roller-coaster few months of disturbing messages around Commonwealth funding for financial counselling, it now seems that funding for financial counselling and ER will be very similar - largely intact (a minimal cut). More information soon as it emerges, but we wanted everyone to hear the…