Dear Friends, 

Earlier today, the 2026-27 State Budget was handed down. It was the last Budget for the current Labor Government before the State Election, which will be held on 28 November.

FCVic’s Campaign Coordinator, David Tennant, attended the State Budget lockup and reviewed the papers before they were released in Parliament. The theme adopted for this year’s Budget package is ‘Easier. Safer. More Affordable.’

It was particularly pleasing to see that financial counselling featured prominently, both in the overview and in the more detailed Service Delivery – Budget Paper No.3. On first read, however, the uplift for financial counselling of $2.7 million in 2026/27, whilst welcome, is modest. It is well below what we requested in our Budget submission and appears to be a one-off, with no continuation of increases in the forward estimates. 

There is funding of $2.3 million to extend the Bring Your Bills day model, successfully delivered by South East Community Links. Our understanding is that this will support around ten such events across the State in the next financial year. There were similarly positive references to ongoing funding for the Rural Financial Counselling Service, in partnership with the Commonwealth, as well as additional investments in place-based community information and support services that are likely to be of benefit to FCVic members.

There was a range of announcements addressing acute cost-of-living concerns that were made in the days and weeks before the Budget was released. You were no doubt following those announcements, given the challenges being faced by the clients of financial counsellors and a range of community support services. They included: 

• Discounted installation of insulation in eligible social housing to reduce energy bills and improve livability. 
• An extension of free public transport until the end of May, followed by half-price fares from the start of June until the end of 2026. 
• Funding for additional social and affordable housing properties. 
• A 20 per cent rebate on the costs of car registration for 2025-26. 
• An extension of support for food security and emergency relief.

Extra information about the cost-of-living commitments is included in the Budget papers.

There does not appear to be any reference to the growing financial counselling sector’s training, professional development and support needs in the Budget. While disappointing, that is not entirely surprising, given we are still awaiting the full Government response to the Consumer Affairs Victoria Review of the financial counselling program.

As you are aware from previous Budget reports, the State Budget papers are necessarily high-level, and regardless of the direct references in this year’s papers, financial counselling funding does not have its own ‘line item’. We will take the time to follow-up with Ministerial and Departmental contacts to find out exactly what the references in the Budget mean, immediately and over time.

FCVic commits to communicating with members proactively as more information on program funding specifics comes to light. We will continue to highlight how essential financial counselling services are in the lead up to the election, in a year when financial stress across the community is reaching unprecedented levels. The overwhelmingly positive message from this year’s Budget is that the important role financial counsellors play is seen and acknowledged. That is testament to the hard work and professionalism of all our members undertaking service roles. 

I invite you to reach out to me if you have any questions or comments. You may also wish to contact David Tennant to discuss activities leading up to the State Election — [email protected]. 

Yours sincerely, 

Zyl Hovenga-Wauchope
Chief Executive Officer, FCVic