Submission on Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Financial Counselling Services Review

Financial counsellors are a fundamental safeguard to stop people slipping into crisis, and to support and advocate on behalf of those who are experiencing financial crises. 

However, financial counselling services are currently in high and increasing demand, placing severe pressure on the sector. This means that wait times are lengthening and often crisis support is the best that can be offered to clients. The opportunity for best-practice early intervention is constrained by the resources available to funded services. 

Demand is being driven by what is popularly termed a “cost-of-living crisis,” but is in fact worsening long-running structural inequalities in our economy. The impacts of high housing costs, expensive utilities, and inflation in the costs of everyday essentials have been exacerbated by opportunistic market actors who engage in risky lending and price gouging.  

The result is that not only are low-income households presenting for help to financial counselling services, but so too are middle income and dual-income households. Servicing these client cohorts is a distinct change for funded services. The other significant change is that clients are also presenting with more complex financial stresses.

Cumulatively, these pressures place increased demand on the whole community sector, not just financial counsellors, and constrain the whole sector’s capacity to collaborate – impacting even the ability to make a referral to another service.  

The Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Financial Counselling Services Review Discussion Paper (the Discussion Paper) lays out these challenges facing the sector well. The Discussion Paper also comprehensively explains the shortcomings of current funding models for the sector, and the risks these factors collectively pose for worker wellbeing and workforce sustainability.  

As the peak body for the Victorian social and community sector, the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) consulted with our members to provide feedback on the Discussion Paper to Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV). 

VCOSS member organisation Financial Counselling Victoria (FCVic) is the peak body and professional association for Victoria’s financial counsellors. FCVic has also made a submission to this review, based on extensive consultation with their members. Their consultation has helped inform VCOSS’ submission, and VCOSS endorses the recommendations made in FCVic’s submission to Consumer Affairs Victoria.