FCVic has signed on to support Financial Counselling Australia’s (FCA) joint submission to the General Insurance Code Governance Committee (CGC), highlighting systemic issues that continue to affect consumers, particularly those experiencing vulnerability, disaster impacts, or financial hardship. The submission identifies persistent problems in insurers’ identification and treatment of vulnerable consumers, ongoing barriers to the acceptance of authorised representatives, delays and unfair practices in claims handling and cash settlements, inadequate approaches to temporary accommodation, and widespread underinsurance. It calls for stronger monitoring, clearer guidance and more decisive enforcement to ensure that insurers meet their obligations under the General Insurance Code of Practice and deliver fair and trauma informed outcomes for consumers.

FCVic has lodged a short submission to the General Insurance Code Governance Committee consultation on the 2026-27 Monitoring Priorities, informed by our Disaster Recovery Network and noting our support for Financial Counselling Australia’s submission. We acknowledge some recent progress by the Committee, including its letter to insurers about accepting financial counsellor authority forms, but we highlight continuing problems such as poor identification and support of vulnerable consumers, denial of temporary accommodation, slow claim progress, and harmful health impacts, illustrated by a Casterton hailstorm case from 16 October 2024. We recommend that the Committee review our detailed 2025-26 submission when setting the 2026-27 priorities, and we stress the urgency of rigorous Code compliance monitoring given the recent run of disasters across the country.

FCVic has lodged a short submission to the Victorian Government’s review of Land Registry fees, informed by insights from our Family Violence Network. This submission asks the Department of Transport and Planning to introduce a one‑off free Title Search (Register Search Statement) for victim‑survivors of family violence experiencing financial hardship, to remove cost barriers to accessing essential property information, and notes FCVic’s support for EACH’s related proposal to exempt accredited financial counsellors and allied frontline services from fees. Many thanks to our member financial counsellors – especially those in the Family Violence Network – whose frontline experience shaped this feedback.

This sector submission responds to the Fair Work Commission’s Gender‑Based Undervaluation – Priority Awards Review of the SCHADS Award, following the Report to the Expert Panel released on 16 December 2025. It focuses on the proposed Alternative Classification Structure for counsellors, including financial counsellors. The submission welcomes the inclusion of a clear definition of “counsellor,” and the recognition of counsellors at senior professional levels (Levels 7–9), which better reflects the complexity, responsibility, and professional expertise of financial counsellors who support more than 200,000 people face‑to‑face each year.

The submission raises two key concerns about unintended consequences in the current drafting. First, treating Level 5.1 as a “minimum entry point” risks creating a de facto lower entry point for counsellors who, in practice, always work under some level of supervision or direction. Second, the distinctions at Level 6 tied to “direct supervision” versus “general direction” could be applied inconsistently, incentivising misclassification. To address this, the submission recommends confirming Level 7 as the minimum classification for qualified financial counsellors, limiting Level 6 to clearly defined student internship circumstances, and explicitly linking supervision terms to recognised professional benchmarks (e.g., accreditation status, independent practice, and provision of secondary consultation or supervision). It also urges the Commission to acknowledge funding impacts for government‑funded services, consider regional and remote labour‑market pressures, and ensure that no worker is left worse off during transition and implementation timelines.

Submitted jointly with

• Financial Counselling Australia (FCA)
• Financial Counselling Queensland (FCQ)
• Financial Counselling Victoria (FCVic)
• Financial Counsellors’ Association of NSW (FCAN)
• Financial Counsellors’ Association of Western Australia (FCAWA)
• Financial Counsellors Association Tasmania (FCAT)
• Financial Counsellors Australian Capital Territory (FC‑ACT)
• South Australian Financial Counsellors Association (SAFCA), incorporating the Northern Territory

This submission should be read in conjunction with our previous submission, from 5 September 2025.

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)

Financial Counselling Victoria’s submission to the Phase 2 review of the Prohibiting Energy Market Misconduct Act emphasises the need for principles‑based, consumer‑focused regulation, including consideration of a positive consumer duty. It highlights that some consumers will remain unable to afford competitive energy markets and calls for alternative approaches such as social tariffs, alongside stronger coordination with state regulators when implementing reforms.