On a cold and wet Thursday morning, financial counsellors from across Victoria descended on the idyllic seaside town of Lorne alongside the Great Ocean Road. What better place for a Conference with the theme ‘Rocking the Boat’.
The wet weather forced the Welcome to Country from Gadubanud man Paul Kelly off the lawns outside the Mantra hotel and inside the venue, but Paul welcomed us all with a warm and humorous invitation.
Dr Darren O’Donovan from the Latrobe University Law School delivered the keynote address on the harms and systemic failures of the Robot debt scandal and the lessons that can be drawn from the findings of the Royal Commission. He said the illegal scheme disproportionately affected First Nations people around the country and that “as a society we didn’t capitalise and listen to the victims’ experiences”. He added that “no matter the debt, it was the life that mattered,” and ended with a call to action saying that the Royal Commission’s findings were a rare opportunity for change.
Dr O’Donovan’s address was followed by financial counsellors Liz Stary (Women’s Legal Service Victoria) and Carmel Stafford (Uniting Vic Tas) who shared their experiences in the Centrelink Working Group advocating for the need for systemic change and for the Government to ‘Raise the Rate’ of the JobSeeker allowance.
Fiona Guthrie AM provided an update from Financial Counselling Australia and said that rocking the boat externally and internally was central to the work they did to ensure the sector continued to grow and evolve. She provided an update on the incoming voluntary industry funding model which would provide over $10 million a year to the financial counselling sector, following the sign on from banks, insurance, energy and wagering companies. She noted with disappointment that the goal of $18 million a year will not be met and that telcos (apart from Telstra), other finance companies, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and debt collectors (with the exception of Credit Corp) had not signed on to the model. “It’s not perfect, but it’s a start,” Ms Guthrie said. She reminded the sector of the need to celebrate their successes, such as the recent ban on the use of credit cards for gambling and the upcoming BNPL regulations from the Federal Government.
Next, FCVic’s Annette Devereaux facilitated an exploration into the complexity of financial counselling casework, as financial counsellors Bronny Higgs (EACH), Doung Lieu (The Salvation Army MoneyCare) and Narelle Clark (Cafs Ballarat) shared their client’s stories of complex and diverse needs and challenges. These cases highlighted the often-difficult demands placed on financial counsellors and the intersectional nature of the work as no client comes in with a single-issue problem.
Kate Symons, Commissioner and Chairperson of the Essential Services Commission (ESC), delivered an update on their enforcement work and the need for financial counsellors and the ESC to continue their ongoing communication and relationships in order to get better outcomes for consumers across the state and country. We had a great chat with Kate after the Conference and are looking forward to sharing this with readers in our November edition of the Devil’s Advocate.
Before closing out the day, the newly appointed FCVic Executive Officer Zyl Hovenga-Wauchope delivered an address, marking his second week on the job, sharing some of his initial thoughts and insights, and thanking everyone for the warm welcome he had received both in the organisation and at the conference.
He also announced that FCVic had launched a new campaign, supported by 36 community organisations, urging Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan to deliver an urgent package to help financial counsellors deal with the surging demand for services in the cost-of-living crisis. Calls to the National Debt Helpline in Victoria are up 47% in the first half of the year, compared to the same period last year, and wait times to see a financial counsellor have blown out to an average 2 months. This open letter has been sent out to all members of the Victorian Parliament – read more about this here.
Zyl also used this opportunity to launch a one-day event FCVic is holding next year: the Changing Face of Hardship Summit. You can read a little more about this in this month’s Devil’s Advocate newsletter.
Always a highlight of the FCVic conference the Gala Awards Dinner did not disappoint. Frocked-up financial counsellors gathered back at the Mantra for a night of dancing, awards and entertainment. Our heartfelt congratulations to the following winners:
- Jan Pentland Memorial Award: Laura Powell, Julie Wentworth
- Virginia Noonan Award: Kaye Norris
- Rising Star Award: Jacqui Scott
The following morning financial counsellors piled into the conference hall, a few a little late and bleary-eyed, to listen to a video address from outgoing Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass OBE, reflecting on her time in the job and the ways in which she had used the role to ‘rock the boat’ and bring about fairness and justice for Victorians.
Lisa Stoddart (Uniting Vic Tas) facilitated a session with Rachna Bowman (South East Community Links), Kylie McLoughlin (Anglicare Victoria), Julie Dal Pra (EACH) and Bronwyn Davis (Primary Care Connect) bringing a spotlight on family violence and the way it intersects with financial abuse and financial counselling work. Bronwyn shared her experience as a family violence financial counsellor regionally-based in Shepparton and Rachna talked about advocating for the multicultural communities of South Eastern Melbourne. Kylie talked about working with creditors to ensure better outcomes for clients and Julie shared the complexities of small business cases where the perpetrator of family violence uses directorship of companies, tax debts and other financial products to perpetrate abuse.
Note: Jarni Blakkarly is a journalist for CHOICE. He attended the Financial Counselling Victoria Conference as a guest of the organisation.