A Year in Review
As we race toward the end of the year, it seems everyone is winding down their work clocks while urgently preparing for the year ahead. We’re in the same position, thinking about all we’ve got on the agenda for next year already. We find ourselves in a position of great opportunity, with many projects just beginning, but with limited time to complete them all. This is a perfect moment to reflect on what we’ve accomplished this year and to share what lies ahead.
I joined FCVic in October last year, just one week before our 2023 Conference. While some tell me I was thrown into the deep end, I saw it as a tremendous opportunity. It was an excellent way to meet all our members and quickly understand what’s been happening across Victoria—essentially a very immediate induction into the issues financial counsellors were seeing across the state. That first week, I was incredibly grateful to my new team, who had worked tirelessly with our members to prepare a significant ask and messages through our Cost-of-Living Campaign. We aimed to communicate the impacts communities were experiencing from rising interest rates, inflation, and housing stress. This confluence of factors affected many areas of people’s everyday lives, leaving them unable to afford the basics and experiencing significant hardship. As a result, they were seeking financial counsellors at ever-increasing rates with increasingly complex situations.
Taking this message to the government and community, while talking with financial counsellors at the conference, their agencies, and regional meetings, really highlighted the importance of the financial counselling profession in times like these. It emphasised the need for well-funded, well-supported financial counselling services that can continue to help people experiencing hardship and respond to the cost-of-living crisis with a focus on community needs, the importance of well-funded financial counselling services, and the need to plan for future service delivery.
Our campaign made quite a splash, with meetings with MPs and financial counsellors, press releases, media engagements, and growing public awareness of cost-of-living pressures. We were invited to our first state budget lockup and, while the budget didn’t bring many immediate announcements, the government advisors on the day echoed our key messages. Thankfully, we were heard, and the government announced an additional $15 million over three years for financial counselling services to address the hardships and issues highlighted in our campaign. I would like to thank again every financial counsellor who attended a briefing, contributed to our submissions, and communicated the voices of people across the state.
In March, we held our very successful Changing Face of Hardship Summit, where over 300 people gathered to discuss the issues we’d been campaigning about—the growing complexity and increasing numbers of people seeking financial counselling services, and how we as a sector could practically respond. We’re proud of the conversations and insights shared among industry, community sector organisations, and government representatives. Looking ahead, we’re excited about next year’s housing summit, which is particularly relevant given the current housing crisis—from the sheer cost of housing to access issues, the precarious rental market, and the mental and financial toll of just trying to stay housed.
October’s Conference was a huge success, and it was wonderful to attend my second FCVic conference—this time being fully involved from start to finish. I’m immensely grateful to the entire FCVic team for making it another extraordinary event in the landscape of financial counselling in Australia. These conferences allow us to share cutting-edge insights, reflect on current issues, and focus on necessary responses. They’re also opportunities to come together in solidarity as a profession, enjoying time with colleagues from across the state who truly “get it.” It was a time of learning and laughter—I certainly had a great time on the dance floor, singing karaoke, and watching financial counsellors’ triumph over industry in our Family Feud!
While we are still waiting to see the additional funding in action, we’re thrilled to have helped design the objectives of Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Victorian Property Fund financial counselling round. We’re eagerly anticipating the start of new programs specifically designed to address housing and rental stress as they begin in the new year. Through CAV’s support, FCVic will continue delivering professional development, accreditation, and advocacy services for our members and Victoria. We’re also delighted to be working on a ten-year Workforce Development Strategy, as proposed in our budget submission and agreed to by CAV. Even as we enter December’s quieter period, we’re excited by the strong interest from members and agencies in making this project as valuable and effective as possible.
Advocacy and member consultation have been core elements of our focus this year, and next year will be the same. We have made so many well-informed, detailed, sensible submissions on cost-of-living, regulatory reform, credit practices, and many other issues. Our submissions are consistently lauded as being of exceptional quality, and we keep being invited to give evidence on inquiries on these issues or to provide commentary to media. FCVic’s submissions, not to mention FCVic itself, thrive through engagement with our highly engaged members, and as a profession, we are most successful when acting together to understand, respond to, and communicate the issues affecting Victorians on the frontiers of hardship.
I’d like to close this message with a huge thank you to every member of FCVic—everyone who’s contributed to a survey, attended a network meeting, sent feedback via email, or pulled me aside for a conversation at an event. Without your feedback and ongoing dialogue, we in the FCVic office couldn’t do our jobs. Together, we continue to lead on state and national conversations about the issues of our time in truly impactful ways that lead to real change. Next year, you can expect more surveys, consultations, conversations, and reflection. I’m looking forward to every single one of my conversations with you.
I hope you all have a restful, calming, invigorating, and hopeful holiday. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and here’s to another year of strength for FCVic and financial counselling in Victoria!