Proposed Reduction in Financial Counselling Services

One of the functions of the Financial Counselling and Consumer Information Service (FCCIS) is to provide financial counselling to the needy so that they can cope with financial crises and develop plans to meet their longer-term needs. This service is funded by the Department of Human Services, and is all-inclusive, being available to people of all ages.

The importance of this service is reflected in an increase of 37% in service demand in the last six months of 1998, compared with the same period in the previous year.

The department is currently reorganising its programs within the Youth and Family Services area and at the same time grouping various services together to form larger packages that will be subsequently put out to tender. Under the proposed reorganisation, the Financial Counselling Program has been included in the Family Services bundle, which deals specifically with families. If this occurs it will exclude up to 30% of current FCCIS clients, including young people not living at home, singles, couples without children, and the elderly.

This is an extraordinary policy change. It appears to be just another move to reduce the cost of a service by restricting access to it, without considering the implications for some of the most socially and financially disadvantaged people in our community.