Cafs awarded financial counselling grant

CAFS has received $900,000 in State Government funding to launch a Financial Wellness Hub for regional Victorians.

The organisation, which offers wellbeing support services to children, young people and families, operates in the Ballarat, Moorabool, Hepburn, Ararat, Pyrenees, and Golden Plains regions.

The funding will help address the high demand for financial counselling in the current economic climate where many community members are facing pressures related to renting and mortgages.

The Cafs Financial Wellness Hub will include digital tools, expanded programs and mental health specialists to enhance community members’ financial capabilities, literacy and self-advocacy.

It will support neighbouring regions including the Central Goldfields, northern and southern Grampians, Yarriambiack, Horsham, West Wimmera and Glenelg, which is an additional 90,000 people.

“This funding is a game changer for Cafs because it allows us to expand our support for people in the region and to regions adjacent to Ballarat,” Cafs CEO Wendy Sturgess said.

“We’re able to use different forms, meaning communications. Not everyone wants to come for a telephone or face-to-face service, so it expands that opportunity.

“We love that because it’s quite a contemporary approach.”

Throughout the last year, Cafs has helped 1170 people through their financial counselling services and the number of people seeking support is increasing.

The grant was part of the State Government’s $15 million financial counselling funding round 2024 to 2025, and Minister for Consumer Affairs Nick Staikos joined Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison at Cafs to recognise their successful bid last week.

“In many, many ways the role of financial counsellors is to assist Victorians to keep their head above water,” he said.

“I’m keen as both Minister for Consumer Affairs and Minister for Local Government to ensure that we are dealing with mortgage stress, with rental stress, with financial stress every step of the way.

“Later this year we’ll be issuing ministerial guidance to our 79 local councils on hardship policies, but we are also reviewing the Owners Corporation Act.”