As the end of the financial year approaches, many financial counsellors and agency managers are busy compiling the end of year reports, full to the brim with different sets of data. Data… it is often a very topical conversation point. At present, there are several different data system platforms depending on the funders’ requirements or where you may work, with agencies using different processes and systems. Often, financial counsellors feel the pressures to see more clients and help more people in need of our service, and the recording of data can feel less important in comparison.  We know very well how telling a person’s story can influence change, so we need to think the same about our data. Improving the data captured for our financial counselling sector was a recommendation that came out of the Sylvan review. At the recent FCA Conference held in Canberra last month, Minister for Families and Social Services of Australia Amanda Rishworth announced a further investment of funds to our sector to assist with this. With money now set aside, Department of Social Services have engaged consultants to commence developing a data strategy and an outcomes framework for the financial counselling sector. We will have to wait and see what this will look like exactly, but it is exciting times to come, and hopefully our data can start to have a stronger voice in our need for increased funding.

Closer to home, the FCVic projects team lead by Dr Suzy Goldsmith hosted A Festival of Ideas – Priceless, the unpaid contribution on Wednesday 21 June at the Treacy Centre in Parkville. The festival brought together resources, partners and current and future collaborators engaged in several special projects. From all accounts this unique opportunity to learn and connect with new networks was a great success. Over 110 attendees enjoyed the day which included exhibitors, presentations from other professionals and organisations including mental health programs, carer support, librarians and allied health supports, to name just a few. It was a great way to celebrate the work of our projects team and what they have achieved over the past 3 years. 

As the some of the project funding streams conclude at the end of this financial year (today!), a number of the incredibly passionate Special Projects team will be finishing up with FCVic. We would like to give our sincere thanks to Dr Suzy Goldsmith, Bella Walker, Julia Monsbourgh, Veronica Ferrie, Julie Watson, Robyn Angus and Katrina Barrett. Your work has helped financial counselling touch so many new areas of outreach, and created collaborations and resources that will be used by so many people, both within and outside the sector, for years to come. Brava!