Clients impacted by problem gambling are often vulnerable to scams and speculation. These clients are more likely to take risks - Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSF) are not unusual – How do SMSF’s work? What happens when the client has their hand in the till of their own super? Who regulates this and what happens to the tax liabilities? Find out what questions you should be asking and where to refer them.

Addictions impact the way financial counsellors work with clients. It is imperative that any response is within the context of an integrated team. Discover more about the specific needs of clients struggling with addiction, and the approaches of other workers to enhance client outcomes.

Financial counsellors assist people who are either bankrupt or considering bankruptcy all of the time. Bankruptcy can seem complex when you are starting out but understanding the basics can assist you and the people you help in navigating the bankruptcy process.

This foundation level session covers the fundamental skills and knowledge required to deliver effective financial counselling services to victims of family violence and/or economic abuse.

The advanced session builds on and provides expert training for all specialist Family Violence financial counsellors and financial counsellors who wish to deepen their knowledge.

Online betting is growing rapidly- opportunities are endless and increasing. Get some insight about how you detect online gambling, recognise speculation, and know about contracts for difference. Find out what’s legal and what’s not. Recognise and explore different ways of working with clients.

Learn about how you can help your clients with a range of common insurance issues including junk insurance and warranties, funeral insurance and car insurance.

Every client you see as a financial counsellor is unique and therefore no case is identical. Each requires their own individual approach and solutions. This is the same when seeing couples. However, having a couple as your clients poses some extra challenges and therefore requires some extra thought and expertise. Seeing couples could be in two different settings, seeing them together or seeing them separately. Conflicts of interest may become apparent. Another theme that you may identify is family violence, in particular economic abuse. How do you approach this topic with both victim and perpetrator as your client or even in the room?

Fear of Fines. After this workshop you will no longer be afraid of tackling your client’s fines. Fines and accumulated fines are at the core of a lot of people’s debts. What has changed in the “fines world”? This workshop looks at identifying options, including Family Violence schemes, special circumstances and payment plans. It will outline what the timeframes are around these options and how to access them. A panel of industry experts will provide a deeper insight into these issues.

Financial counsellors are trained to provide their clients with information and options, and, at least in some circumstances, they provide advice. Advice giving has the potential to empower the client, but can also potentially take choices and decision making power away from the client. The distinction between providing options and giving advice is not always clear-cut.

Professional supervision is an essential component of building professional development into financial counselling through providing structured professional support and mentoring to financial counsellors. FCRC organised for the introduction of an initial cohort of trained professional supervisors in Victoria 2012, and new professional supervisors have been trained each year since then. However there have been limited opportunities for supervisors to share experiences or reflect on their practice as a group in a structured way following their initial training. This session aims to provide that opportunity, and enable supervisors to learn from each other about how to approach the role, and develop a deeper understanding of what constitutes good practice in professional supervision.

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is the new external dispute resolution (EDR) scheme for financial service providers. From 1 November 2018 AFCA will start accepting complaints, replacing the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS); the Credit & Investments Ombudsman (CIO); and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal. This course will provide an overview of AFCA and its terms of reference and provide tips and tricks on running an EDR complaint through AFCA.

Credit cards are given special treatment under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act. Furthermore new responsible lending laws that apply specifically to credit cards are rolling out between July 2018 and January 2019. Financial counsellors and consumer advocates see many people who have been given credit cards that cause significant financial hardship. These new laws will provide important protections to your clients.

This Masterclass is specifically designed for specialist Family Violence Financial Counsellors in Victoria and those senior practitioners that hold a leadership or supervisory role, or work regularly with clients who have experienced family violence and/or economic abuse.

Telephone Counselling Skills and assisting clients over the remotely is often a big part of the financial counsellor’s role. This session will provide participants with a framework and strategies to work effectively in providing advice to clients over the phone.