Add Category
Updated
Financial counsellors say there is one emotion shared widely by those in financial distress — shame.
"People get very embarrassed," financial counsellor Kate Rich said.
"Most people who sit in front of me during an appointment will say, 'I never thought it would come to this'. So I think people feel a lot of shame and embarrassment about that."
That shame soon turns into fear and anxiety if help is not available, and that is the case for an increasing number of Australians.
These are recent comments made anonymously to financial counselling agencies in Western Australia via their online feedback pages:
"The waiting lists are so long."
"I was trying to get through to book the appointment on the phone. I tried 20 times, but I was lucky and got in due to a cancelled appointment."
"Please just add more counsellors to help more people in need like my case."
"It's so upsetting to know that people are trying and trying and trying to get in to see us," Ms Rich said.
"It would just demoralise them.
"You know, 20 times, that's a lot of times to try and reach out for help. A lot of people, if they don't get it in the first couple, give up."
Financial counsellors said they were deeply concerned about the number of Australians desperately trying to access help to sort out their finances who were turned away by crisis centres.
RN Breakfast heard that many Australians already at breaking point were being forced to wait up to three weeks to see a financial counsellor.
Data from the Western Australian Government showed that roughly half of people seeking a financial counsellor in Perth were being turned away.
Personal financial crises threaten lives
Ms Rich said she worried about these vulnerable people.
"Several people who have been in my office have been close to suicide," she said.
If you or anyone you know needs help:
Perth-based charity, the Financial Counselling Network, runs 15 counselling agencies in 25 locations across WA.
Principal officer Celia Dufall said, among the clients the service processes, the average debt was around $100,000.
"So, certainly, we're seeing complex financial problems where there are numerous credit cards, mortgages, and sometimes pay day loans, and Afterpay we're seeing coming through now," she observed.
Ms Dufall said that for every 8,000 people who come through their doors every year, 8,000 were turned away.
"So for every call we get, we actually have to say, 'No, we can't fit you in' to someone else," she said.
"That obviously leads to lots of stress for that person, who is usually experiencing a lot of financial stress and hardship, and we know that have lots of unintended consequences."
"Usually what they're looking for is a solution or a pathway, and that's what we can provide them," Ms Dufall said.
"Quite often people who are struggling with debt consider suicide, so there are some really adverse outcomes from not getting help when they need it."
Western Australia is not the only state under the pump.
By volume, the highest number of calls are consistently received in New South Wales, followed by Victoria and Queensland, which are also the three most populous states.
Parliamentary inquiry into financial hardship
Next week the Economics References Committee will hold an inquiry into financial hardship.
It is essentially a chance for politicians to examine predatory practices by some banks and financial services providers, which have not already been lassoed by the banking royal commission.
Chief executive of Financial Counselling Australia Fiona Guthrie will be appearing before the committee.
Ms Guthrie told the ABC she would be presenting a case to the inquiry for another bank levy to help support and expand the financial counselling sector in order to meet the overwhelming demand.
"We're proposing that the people who cause the problems, and people who benefit when financial counsellors help people get back on track, help pay for the services," she said.
"That's very similar to what they do in the United Kingdom, and it works very well."
Joanna Elson can speak to that.
She is the chief executive of the Money Advice Trust — a national charity helping people across the UK to tackle their debts and manage their money.
Ms Elson said this year has been the organisation's busiest year in five years.
That is because 8.3 million Britons — or one in six in the UK — now have problem debt.
Services are so overwhelmed a bank levy has been introduced to help fund more financial counsellors and crisis support.
"Here in the UK there is a levy which is collected by the Financial Conduct Authority, so it's a levy on financial institutions, banks, building societies and others, and that pays for a number of services, including for some debt advice," Ms Elson explained.
"So around 56 million pounds worth of debt advice is paid for by that levy."
Ms Guthrie will draw on that example and also direct politicians to the potential financial benefits of a levy for the Government.
"There's a really good business case for government on this, because it costs money if people remain in financial hardship," she said.
"It affects relationships and it affects health, then we pick that up as a community."
But for those who have sought help and still could not get through to a counsellor, Ms Rich said there were still plenty of online resources that could help.
"The [ASIC] Money Smart website, the National Debt Helpline website, for example," she said.
"So if you can't get in to talk to us straight away, try and look up those websites to give you a few pointers."
But as Ms Dufall explained, you also need to be able to understand the information you receive on these websites.
"It's worth noting that financial literacy isn't part of our national curriculum at the moment, so we're seeing people come though us who don't have those basic financial literacy skills to deal with their situation."
Financial counsellors are due to appear at the Senate inquiry early next week.
Topics: consumer-finance, consumer-protection, suicide, australia, wa
First posted