A survey by The Smith Family of 2,200 families supported by the charity found almost 90 per cent were worried about being able to afford the school supplies required for the year. At the start of each school year, right after the festive period and during holidays, families can be expected to sometime spend $100's on school supplies and fees. Here is a compilation of services that can help your clients with back to school expenses in SA and the NT.    Th...

Do you have a client who wants to turn their ideas, passion and skills into a small business? Starting a business from scratch or running a newly established one is both challenging and exciting. Good Shepherd’s LaunchMe for multicultural women program helps to develop and launch small businesses. Working with a coach, participants will gain skills, confidence and motivation to get a business up and running - quicker than doing it on thei...

Sometimes, as tenancies end, the money isn’t claimed back for a variety of reasons. Consumer and Business Services (CBS) has a streamlined system so you can easily Check Bond Status for any outstanding bond that may be yours. All you need to ‘Search by Tenancy Details’ is the former postcode, street name and tenant surname as well as the year the tenancy commenced. You can find out more about the claims process at www.cbs.sa.gov.au/unclaimedbonds . Meantime, CBS is continu...

The team at UCWB is working on an innovative project; they are developing a toolkit of financial resources for Financial Counsellors and Financial Capability Workers to use to support clients approaching retirement age (50 to 65). They would like to invite FC and FCWs to share their experience working with this cohort by completing this survey https://forms.office.com/r/t8rsXdfHP2. It will take 5 -10 mins to complete. UCWB plan on sharing these resources ...

The Rank the Banks and Other Creditors Survey 2023 is up and running. We are asking all financial counsellors to spare 20 minutes to complete it by 16 October. The survey link is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RXSYQRF Your feedback about how banks and other credit providers respond to their customers experiencing financial hardship shines a light on good and bad practice, and drives change. Please stick with the survey until the end. There is a real opportunity to influence the secon...