Financial Counselling & Capability

Financial Counselling & Capability

Financial Counselling & Financial Capability

Our Financial Counselling and Financial Capability Program is a free and confidential service which helps eligible people

  • Address their financial problems through the provision of information, advocacy and/or negotiation on behalf of the client.
  • With employment readiness through improving financial knowledge, skills and capabilities to assist them to achieve employment.
  • To build longer-term capability to budget and manage their money better and make informed financial decisions.

Our service areas are the Ovens Murray, Hume and Murray.

UMFC is funded to provide eligible people with the following services:

  • Financial Counselling
  • Financial Capability
  • Employment readiness

These services are free , confidential and independent.

Eligibility:

  • You live in the Murray or Hume or Ovens Murray service areas.
  • Financial Counselling Casework:
  • You are experiencing financial disadvantage and/or vulnerability.
  • You are a family violence victim/survivor experiencing financial difficulty.
  • Financial Capability Casework:
  • You are in receipt of a Commonwealth social security benefit, allowance or payment, or
  • Newly arrived migrant/non-citizen (priority will be given to newly arrived refuges), or
  • Women experiencing family violence, for the purpose of assisting these women to become financially independent.

Appointments:

Call (02) 6055 8000 and leave your details with the receptionist to access the service. You will receive a call back to discuss your circumstances and what we can do to help.

We are required by our guidelines to assess every client for eligibility and the priority of their case at our first contact with you.

Online information can be found at:
National Debt Helpline website ndh.org.au
MoneySmart  website

Information provision:

Information provision occurs when:

  • You have a simple question that can be answered by providing general information that is readily available, or
  • You have been assessed as having financial difficulties but not financially disadvantaged or vulnerable, or
  • Information provision is sufficient to meet your needs at this time.

Referral to non-financial counselling services:

Referral occurs when the person requires a service other than financial counselling casework. UMFC have skills and knowledge to refer you to appropriate local services (such as addiction support services, tax accountants, foodbank etc)

Waitlists:

Financial Counselling & Financial Capability Caseworkers have flexible diaries for clients assessed as urgent and Priority 1. If you have been assessed as not urgent the waitlist is upto 20 business days (4 weeks).

Financial Counselling:

Depending upon your circumstances you may be:

  • Provided with information and/or referral to non-financial counselling services (such as addiction support services), or
  • Financial Counselling Casework, either sessional (up 5 hours) or extended.

Extended casework is only offered to clients who meet both the financially disadvantaged and vulnerability criteria, and where issues are complex, and circumstances may require ongoing casework. Extended casework may be ongoing and has no time limitations. Family violence cases will often require extended casework.

Financial Capability:

The Financial Capability Program helps eligible people to build longer-term capability to budget and manage their money better and make informed financial decisions.

These services provide:

  • Financial literacy education,
  • One-on-one budgeting support to individuals, and/or
  • Non-accredited financial literacy community education workshops to eligible people.

Employment Readiness:

This program supports people with employment readiness through improving financial knowledge, skills and capabilities to assist them to achieve employment.

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UMFC acknowledges the First Peoples of Australia as the traditional custodians of the land on which we work. We acknowledge their culture is a living one, which relates to their ongoing connection to all things living and non-living on land, sea and sky. We pay our respect to their elders past and present. May our children of today lead us to a better tomorrow.

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UMFC acknowledges the support of the Victorian and the Australian Governments

Commitment to Child Safety

All children and young people who access UMFC Services have a right to feel and be safe and to be treated with respect. We are committed to providing a welcoming and safe environment and working towards the best interests of children and young people at all times.