It’s been a busy start to the financial counselling advocacy year, with a number of government engagements in the diary and systemic advocacy submissions well underway.

Government engagement

In December last year, the financial counselling sector welcomed a new Minister for Consumer Affairs, Nick Staikos MP. FCVic will be meeting with Minister Staikos next month to provide a briefing on our sector, its opportunities and challenges. We look forward to working closely with Minister Staikos and his team to promote the importance of financial counselling in supporting Victorians in financial hardship.

We thank Gabrielle Williams MP, the former Minister for Consumer Affairs for her strong support of the financial counselling sector. Her support was critical to the May 2024 announcement of a $15m injection of funding to the financial counselling sector.

We continue our government and MP engagement on our State Budget Submission, with meetings arranged with the new Parliamentary Secretary for Renters and Shadow Ministers, and ongoing correspondence to secure further opportunities for face-to-face advocacy. This activity will continue right to the State Budget announcement to ensure that financial counselling remains top of mind for government decision-makers.

We also continue to advocate for the recommendations in our submission to the CAV Review of the Financial Counselling Program, discussing these recommendations in our MP meetings and with the consultants working on the CAV Review. We know that our sector is experienced, passionate and create long-term impact for individuals and communities – and with some adjustments to the funding environment, we believe that the sector’s impact can grow significantly.

Systemic advocacy submissions

The breadth of our input into formal consultations in 2024 reflects the diversity of consumer and social issues managed by member financial counsellors. We continue this dedication to elevating the voices and experiences of financial counsellors in these consultations, with a number of submissions made, underway and planned in the first few months of 2025:

• Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman consultation on their draft member guidance on ‘signposting’ – submitted
• Treasury’s Mandating cash acceptance consultation – underway
• General Insurance Code Governance Committee’s consultation on their 2025-26 Monitoring Priorities – underway
• Banking Code Compliance Committee’s consultation on their 2025-26 Monitoring Priorities – underway
• Consultation on the Draft National Plan to end the abuse and mistreatment of older people – underway
• Communications Alliance’s consultation on the draft Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code – underway
• BetStop consultation – planned

As a member association, our advocacy is guided and led by our members, their experiences, and their unique insights from the frontline. We thank all the members who have already and who will be contributing to these submissions, with a special thanks to those who have drawn our attention to opportunities to engage and feedback with decision-makers on the issues that matter.

FCVic is always keen to engage with the sector, industry and regulators on what is happening in the sector. Please reach out to [email protected] at any time to discuss opportunities for collaboration, engagement and reform – we are always here to chat, and most importantly, to act.