9th October 2012 - A coalition of consumer groups is urging the Federal Government to reconsider aspects of its planned credit reporting reform which could see Australians have their credit history tarnished for late payment of amounts as little as $100. In a recent discussion paper on credit reporting regulations,…
1st October 2012 - Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) congratulates the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on their historic and significant win in the Federal Court last week, in a case cementing the legal enforceability of ‘Do Not Knock’ stickers. The case, brought against an energy retailer and a marketing…
2nd September - “Plenty of people on low incomes are terrific at budgeting; they have to be!” Today marks the beginning of MoneySmart Week - a national initiative bringing together more than 100 organisations from the business, government and community sectors, with the aim of advancing the financial literacy of all Australians. Financial…
28th August 2012 - Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) encourages the public to throw their support behind a private member’s bill that aims to establish a “Do Not Knock” register. Introduced to Parliament by Federal MP Steve Georganas, and currently the subject of a House of Representatives' Social Policy and Legal Affairs…
27th August, 2012 - Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) welcomes the passage of Section 160C of the Consumer Credit and Corporations Legislation Amendment (Enhancements) Bill 2011, by the Federal Parliament earlier this month. This section restricts the use of the terms “financial counsellor” and “financial counselling” to organisations that provide financial counselling services as…
6th August 2012 - Financial Counselling Australia and the National Welfare Rights Network have both welcomed the federal government’s announcement of a boost in staff numbers for the Centrelink call centre. With some welfare recipients currently remaining on hold for up to 90 minutes, both organisations describe the boost as…
25th May 2012: Financial counsellors and money management workers have welcomed today’s announcement from the banking industry and private ATM providers that should ultimately see ATM fees abolished in a number of remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The announcement follows a report by FCA* in December 2010, that…
15th May 2012: Minister for Financial Services, the Hon. Bill Shorten MP, has helped Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) and CentaCare Wilcannia-Forbes launch a new front in the Do Not Knock campaign aimed at reducing harmful door-to-door sales practices in Indigenous communities. Minster Shorten launched the project, which includes a new…
24th April 2012: Financial counsellors today welcomed news that the cost of ringing 1800 and 13 phone numbers from mobiles will finally be the same as those from a landline. The campaign for "Fair Calls for All" was led by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), ACOSS and FCA.…
1st March 2012: The financial counselling sector has warmly welcomed the formation of a new incorporated financial counselling association: Financial Counsellors ACT. The formation of Financial Counsellors ACT represents a huge leap forward for the profession. There are now incorporated financial counselling bodies in every State and Territory in Australia…