FCVic is proud to have launched our Victorian Workforce Strategy and report series, Growing Financial Counselling in Victoria: the Next 10 Years, during our FCVic 2025 Conference in October.
Our Victorian Workforce Strategy and report series set out a roadmap for Victoria’s financial counselling sector for the next decade. The series of reports is the final product from FCVic’s Workforce Development Project, funded by the Victorian Government and supported by Consumer Affairs Victoria.
As an overview, the report series contains:
- The Victorian Workforce Strategy developed by the Workforce Innovation and Development Institute (WIDI) at RMIT University in collaboration with FCVic, published as Volume 1.
- New outcomes research from economists at Impact Economics and Policy on the economic benefits and social impact of financial counselling in Victoria, published as Volume 2.
- Evidence-based Caseload Guidelines developed by Bartley Consulting in consultation with FCVic and the financial counselling sector, published as Volume 3.
- The detailed Research and Evidence Report from WIDI that supports the Victorian Workforce Strategy, and a short report on student work placements, published as Volume 4 in our report series.
All reports in our series Growing Financial Counselling in Victoria: the Next 10 Years are available on FCVic’s website here: https://fcvic.org.au/victorian-workforce-strategy/. Please read and share the reports with your networks.
As a summary of our launch event, FCVic’s CEO Zyl Hovenga-Wauchope presented on the Victorian Workforce Strategy and the overall project and next steps to our Conference audience in Lorne and livestreamed across Australia. We heard from economist Brad Ruting on the economic benefits of financial counselling and the social return on investment. Georgina Molloy, Projects Coordinator at FCVic, presented on the evidence-based Caseload Guidelines developed for financial counsellors by consultants at Bartley Consulting, and Jean Cameron at WIDI presented via video on the background to the Strategy’s development.
As outlined by Zyl at our launch event, FCVic’s Strategy sets out a critical pathway to safeguard the future of financial counselling in Victoria. Supported by our Workforce Development Project’s findings, the Strategy addresses the current challenges that limit the financial counselling sector’s ability to grow, adapt and meet rising community demand. The Strategy charts a clear path forward to ensure the Victorian financial counselling sector is equipped with a skilled and supported workforce, sustainable funding, and systemic support required to deliver impactful, integrated services.
The Strategy identifies six key pillars for change:
- Recognising the value and impact of financial counselling
- Growing and sustaining the workforce
- Increasing integrated service delivery
- Prioritising health, safety and wellbeing
- Improving entry and creating progression pathways
- Promoting diversity
The Strategy lays the groundwork for a more sustainable, diverse and agile sector that can continue to safeguard the financial wellbeing of Victorians now and into the future.
In support of this Strategy, we have developed evidence-based analysis on the costs and economic benefits of financial counselling in Victoria – and how investment in the financial counselling sector delivers enormous benefit to the community. Our economists found that in Victoria, each $1 spent on providing general financial counselling services generated an estimated $3.70 to $5.30 in benefits, and even higher for some specialist streams. The high social return on investment in financial counselling presents a strong case for funding, reflected in the Strategy’s pillars for change. Another key element of the Strategy is prioritising the health, safety and wellbeing of workers.
Through the Workforce Development Project, FCVic and our consultants developed a weighted, evidence-based caseload guideline for the financial counselling sector. These guidelines and supporting report establish clear, evidence-based findings on the number of cases a financial counsellor should appropriately manage. This practical resource supports our Strategy’s vision for a safe and healthy workforce that can sustainably meet the needs of people experiencing financial difficulty. FCVic’s Strategy and supporting evidence demonstrate the profound value of financial counselling for people in the community and establish a pathway to build on the strength of the profession in Victoria.
We encourage all stakeholders to join FCVic in implementing the Strategy to secure sustainable financial outcomes.