The joint Federal Budget Submission from financial counselling peak bodies across Australia calls for transformational national investment to address Australia’s structural and deepening cost‑of‑living crisis. With rising housing costs, utilities, food prices and debt placing unprecedented pressure on households, demand for financial counselling is at record levels nationwide. Financial counselling is a proven early intervention that supports people in hardship, reduces demand on housing, health, justice and social services, and delivers substantial economic returns. Yet the sector remains chronically underfunded and unable to meet current and future community need. Without major investment, it would take decades in some states for households already experiencing hardship to access financial counselling support.

Drawing on robust economic and workforce data, the submission outlines a 10‑year plan to quadruple investment in financial counselling and grow the national workforce by 300 per cent. With sustained funding, a workforce of around 4,500 financial counsellors by 2035 could meet unmet need and build long‑term financial resilience across communities. The submission emphasises the importance of strong generalist frontline services embedded in local communities, alongside specialist supports including family violence, gambling harm, disaster recovery and small business financial counselling. This scale of investment would enable earlier intervention and deliver proven economic returns of between $3.70 and $5.30 for every dollar invested, strengthening Australia’s economic resilience and productivity over the long term.

FCVic is proud to have collaborated on this submission with:

• Financial Counselling Queensland (FCQ)
• Financial Counselling Tasmania (FCAT)
• Financial Counsellors’ Association of NSW (FCAN)
• Financial Counsellors’ Association of Western Australia (FCAWA)
• South Australian Financial Counsellors Association (SAFCA) (including Northern Territory)