A coalition of consumer advocates has provided a joint submission on the Draft Ministerial Guidelines for Councils relating to payment of rates and charges. The submission welcomes the draft’s intent to improve consistency and fairness across Victorian councils but calls for stronger, mandatory standards to ensure ratepayers experiencing hardship are treated with dignity and safety. Recommendations include clearer binding language, trauma-informed approaches to family violence and economic abuse, compulsory staff training, defined timeframes for policy updates and hardship assessments, and transparent public reporting of hardship-related metrics.

FCVic contributed expertise on several critical areas: privacy and personal security for victim-survivors of family violence, recommendations for clear and consistent timeframes for hardship processes, transparent public reporting requirements, and improvements to definitions and assessment processes for hardship applications. These contributions aim to ensure councils adopt practices that prioritise safety, fairness, and accessibility for vulnerable ratepayers.

The submission was authored by Westjustice, Mortgage Stress Victoria, Financial Counselling Victoria, Consumer Action Law Centre, and Thriving Communities Australia, with additional sign-on support from other organisations committed to improving hardship responses across Victoria.

Financial Counselling Victoria (FCVic), Mortgage Stress Victoria (MSV) and Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) have lodged a joint submission to the Victorian Government’s consultation on mandatory training and licensing reforms for property industry professionals. Led by FCVic and endorsed by MSV and FCA, the submission supports stronger education requirements for Owners Corporation managers, including mandatory annual training on financial hardship and vulnerability. It also calls for these reforms to be paired with robust legislative changes, such as a statutory hardship framework and accessible dispute resolution, to ensure fair treatment of lot owners and prevent unnecessary escalation of debt recovery.

FCVic’s submission to Financial Counselling Australia’s consultation on Setting a baseline to capture unmet demand highlights key concerns from Victorian financial counselling agencies. The paper examines the limitations of the proposed three-point data model, risks of misrepresenting demand, and the need for governance, privacy safeguards, and practical feasibility. FCVic advocates for a collaborative, needs-based approach to accurately reflect service complexity and strengthen sector advocacy for sustainable funding.

The FCVic State Budget Submission for 2026–27 calls for a bold, long-term investment to address Victoria’s deepening cost-of-living crisis. With increasing numbers of Victorians living in significant economic disadvantage, financial counselling is a proven early intervention that prevents homelessness, mitigates family violence, and reduces demand on health, housing, and justice systems. Yet, with only 300 practising financial counsellors statewide, it would take 32 years to meet current need. Incremental funding cannot solve this problem.

Our State Budget Submission outlines a 10-year plan to quadruple investment in financial counselling, grow the workforce by 300%, and embed services within the Victorian Government’s Early Intervention Investment Framework. This strategy would expand access to generalist and specialist supports, including family violence, small business, disaster recovery, gambling harm, and prisons, while delivering measurable returns of $3.70–$5.30 for every dollar invested. By committing $921.7 million over the next decade, the Victorian Government can unlock up to $4.88 billion in economic and social benefits, protect families, and strengthen community resilience.

FCVic has submitted feedback on VicGrid’s draft Community Engagement and Social Value Guidelines, calling for stronger consumer protections for regional landholders impacted by renewable energy projects. The submission highlights risks from rising insurance costs and inadequate coverage for properties near wind and solar farms. FCVic recommends long-term liability safeguards, independent risk assessments, and contract provisions such as time-limited waivers of subrogation to ensure fairness and security for communities already under financial strain.

Financial Counselling Victoria (FCVic) has responded to the Australian Government’s exposure draft regulations on mandating cash acceptance, urging Treasury to address critical gaps that risk excluding vulnerable consumers. The current draft only requires supermarkets and fuel retailers to accept cash for transactions under $500, leaving out other essential sectors and failing to protect people who are older, on low incomes, in rural areas, or experiencing financial hardship or family violence. FCVic calls for a more inclusive and equitable framework that ensures cash remains a viable and safe payment option for all Australians, especially during emergencies or digital outages.