Sharkwatch [2013][Vol 14][Issue 1][final] - Wesley Mission

Spotlight on economic abuseSue FraserKildonan Uniting Care, Victoria“He put everything in my name – gas, electricity, telephone,credit cards – 99% of things are still in myname… Five evictions, bankruptcy twice, this list goeson… I came out of bankruptcy this year. It was thesecond time and went on for two years. The first timewas a year and a half before that and lasted six months.”Kildonan UnitingCare financial counselling clientKnown by many names, economic abuse is also referredto as economic control, economic deprivation, economicviolence, financial abuse or financial control.Whatever name we give it, economic abuse often occurstogether with other forms of family and domesticviolence, as part of a pattern of controlling behaviourpreventing and undermining someone from becomingfinancially independent. Examples include taking away aperson’s assets, not allowing a person to work, denyinga parent appropriate child support or making them handover their wage.Economic abuse occurs in intimate partner relationshipswith women most often the victims. However, it can alsooccur in a broader range of family and otherrelationships, including where a person may bevulnerable due to their dependence on others for day-todaysupport. For example, an elderly person or someonewith an illness or disability may experience economicabuse perpetrated by a carer.Preventing or controlling access to assets/resourcesExamples - controlling a woman’s ability to make use ofher own or shared resources; controlling how money isspent and limiting access (e.g. denying access to moneyfor necessities such as food, sanitary pads; not allowingpresents for children at Christmas, birthdays); limitingaccess to and monitoring use of car; controlling awoman’s credit card and bank account access (e.g. bankaccount statements, access cards).Refusing to contribute or withholdingExamples - refusing to contribute to household expenses(including making woman solely responsible forhousehold debts such as utility bills); refusing to earnincome, claim income support or other benefits;withholding money to limit women’s participation incommunity and social opportunities; limiting women’saccess to goods and services conditional on perceivedpartner entitlements (e.g. forced sex in exchange forbasic items for children or herself).Exploiting assets/resources or generating expenseExamples - confiscating a woman’s money and causingdebts to be generated in her name; destroying ordamaging household goods, belongings, car; pawning awoman’s property or shared property; running up debtsin a woman’s name; obtaining credit in a woman’s nameor in both names; forcing a woman to commit socialsecurity or tax fraud.Identifying Economic AbuseResearch in Australia and elsewhere that has identifieddifferent types of behaviours as economic abuseincorporates:Interfering with education, training and employmentto prevent financial securityExamples - sabotaging transport or not providingpromised transport (e.g. hiding keys or taking car); failingto provide promised childcare; hiding or destroying workclothes; destroying documents and confiscating mail(e.g. books for study); physically restraining; harassingco-workers and preventing work friendships.8www.wesleymission.org.au/sharkwatch

out their liabilities from those of ex-partners or family.They may also need consideration and assistance fromcreditors to manage liabilities, to establish new paymentplans and service contracts. While women’s needs vary,some women will require access to services such asforensic accounting to identify financial assets (i.e., smallbusiness assets and others may require support toaccess entitlements such as social security, potentiallyfor the first time in their lives).Spotlight on Economic Abuse ProjectOther types of interference to prevent financialsecurityExamples - taking pay; interfering with receipt of otherincome (e.g. child support, income support); refusing toinclude a woman’s name on property titles; not allowingcar ownership; preventing a woman having access toher own bank account/joint bank account; preventingaccess to financial information; preventing involvementin important financial decisions.Financial Counselling & Economic AbuseKildonan UnitingCare and Good Shepherd Youth andFamily Service are partnering on a project that aims toraise awareness of economic abuse and identify how toaddress and prevent economic abuse. Our joint initiative– Spotlight on Economic Abuse - emerged from bothagencies’ shared concerns about the impacts ofeconomic abuse on people accessing their services, withwomen and children most often affected. A comprehensiveliterature and policy review on economic abuse isavailable along with a series of discussion papers oneconomic abuse issues. Our agencies are currentlyundertaking forums and discussions across community,government and industry to gather further data oneconomic abuse with a final research report to bepublished in mid-2013.Financial counsellors can play a key role in assistingpeople experiencing economic abuse. If economic abusehas been part of a client’s experience of domesticviolence, economic and financial problems will beexacerbated and can lead to significant short-termhardship and potentially also to long-term hardship.Women who leave relationships to escape violence canface serious financial difficulties as they are commonlyforced to leave their homes and to leave their own andshared assets and belongings. This is often a time ofcrisis in which women are dealing with multiple issuesand have extraordinary financial costs for such things ashealth services, housing and legal issues associatedwith separation and parenting. Women may leavesituations of violence without employment, with no orpoor credit ratings, and with outstanding joint debts.Practical and immediate financial information andassistance may be particularly important at times ofcrisis. Clients may need to approach banks and othercredit providers to attempt to deal with joint accounts,apply for loans, re-negotiate repayments and separateFor more information or to contribute to this researchplease contact Sue Fraser at Kidonan UnitingCare,sfraser@kildonan.org.au or call (03) 9412 5721. Thisproject was made possible through the generoussupport of the SHARE Community Appeal; the AlfredFelton Bequest, administered by ANZ Trustees; and theVictorian Women’s Benevolent Trust and the GrosvenorFoundation, administered by Equity Trustees.Sharkwatch March 2013. Volume 14, Number 1 9

The The law Law matters: Matters National consumer creditProtection Changes amendmentRichard to the credit laws: Brading A - brief Principal guide solicitor, WesleyCommunity Ellen Dunn—Solicitor, Legal Service Wesley Community Legal ServiceOn March 1 st 2013, the National Consumer CreditProtection Amendment (Enhancements) Act 2012 cameinto effect, bringing a number of major changes toAustralia’s credit laws. The changes will impact on theeveryday operation of the credit industry, and on theadvice to be given by financial counsellors. They areworth being aware of.Payday loansThe most publicised changes, and perhaps the biggestreforms, have been to credit which is short-term andhigh-interest, perhaps best known as “pay-day loans”.Richard Brading described the challenges of this reformin the March 2012 edition of Sharkwatch, and it hasbeen interesting to watch this legislation take its finalform.Now the National Credit Code defines pay day loans interms of being a loan which is for an amount under$2000, which isn’t from an actual bank, isn’t a continuingloan, and which is loaned for between 16 days and oneyear. Loans of 15 days or less will be completelyforbidden.To curb the excessive fees which have been adistinguishing feature of payday loans, the interest, feesand charges on these loans have now been capped.Lenders are only able to add four types of charges to apayday loan;• an establishment fee, capped at 20 per cent of thevalue of the loan;• an ongoing monthly fee, capped at 4 per cent foreach month;• a default fee; and• any government fees or taxes.Additionally, it will become illegal to offer a loan whichhas an annual cost rate higher than 48 per cent.In introducing the changes, the government made itclear that low-income earners have been the group mostat risk of the negative consequences of payday loans.As such, many of the changes have been specificallydesigned to ensure that those who cannot afford highcostcredit are not stuck in a cycle of dependency onhigh-cost credit.To achieve this, the law now limits the number of paydayloans which a person can obtain, with the aim ofpreventing people becoming reliant on payday loans tobe able to afford to pay off the costs of previous paydayloans. If someone comes seeking a payday loan, thelender must do a check on the client’s financial history. Alender is prohibited from providing the loan if the client iseither in default on another payday-style loan, or ifthey’ve had two or more other similar loans in the past90 days.Additionally, the changes have placed restrictions onproviding payday loans to anyone who receives at least50 per cent of their income from Centrelink. Doing so willnot be allowed unless the total payments required by theterms of the loan are 20 per cent or less of their income.Education is also seen as playing a key part in creating amore fair market and industry. Because of this, thegovernment has demanded that all lenders place anadvertisement on their premises, both at the front doorand inside the business at the place where credit isapproved. The same advertisement, which can be seenin Figure 1, must also be placed on the website of anycompany which sells payday loans. The text warns ofthe pitfalls of short term credit, and advises ofalternatives. It also refers people to a financialcounselling service and to the Money Smart website.Do you really need a loan today?It can be expensive to borrow small amounts of moneyand borrowing may not solve your money problemsCheck your options before you borrow:• For information about other options for managingbills and debts, ring 1800 007 007 from anywhere inAustralia to talk to a free and independent financialcounsellor• Talk to your electricity, gas, phone or water providerto work out a payment plan• If you are on government benefits, ask for anadvance payment from Centrelink: 13 17 94Go to www.moneysmart.gov.auMoneySmart shows you how small amount loans workand suggests other options that may help you.Figure 1: The advertisement that payday lenders mustdisplay at their front door, inside their premises at theplace where credit is approved, and on their websites,under the new National Consumer Credit Protection Act.10www.wesleymission.org.au/sharkwatch

The term financial counsellorIn promoting alternatives, the government has alsorecognised the unique role of the financial counsellingindustry. The use of the phrases “financial counselling”and “financial counsellor” is to be restricted. Generally, acredit provider will not be able to use either phrase withany client unless it is genuinely part of a financialcounselling service or the credit provider is indicatingthat it does not provide those services.Reverse MortgagesThe same law which changed payday loans also impactsupon reverse mortgages. The government has indicatedthat this area needs special protection because of theenormous risk that this kind of lending practice poses ifsomething goes wrong. Often, those who use reversecredit are elderly and beyond working age, limiting theirability to financially recover if the reverse mortgage doesnot meet their needs.The most significant of the changes is that the borrowercan no longer owe more than the property from whichthe equity was drawn is worth. Previously, there hadbeen concerning reports of reverse mortgages leading tohuge debts, far beyond the value of the property used inthe reverse mortgage, and which had to be repaid byfamily upon the borrower’s death.The government has indicated it has concerns thatreverse mortgages may sometimes lead to people beingleft without enough money to access the care they needas they age. As such, the law has changed, effectivefrom 18 September 2012, to require that before areverse mortgage is provided, the lender must provide areverse mortgage information sheet, as well as aprojection of the borrower’s debt over time and in varyingcircumstances.Hardship applicationsUp until now, hardship applications were only availablein cases where the money involved was under $500,000.From 1 March 2013 however, the limit has beenremoved and all borrowers, regardless of the value oftheir debts, are able to apply for hardship variations to acredit contract.At the same time, the making of a hardship applicationnow impacts on a lender’s options in enforcing a debt. Alender will no longer be able to start proceedings toreclaim the debt if a hardship application is lodged andthey agree to the hardship variation.In the situation where the lender does not agree to avariation, the lender cannot try to recover the debt until15 days after they have let the borrower know they haverejected the application. This provides an option tofinancial counsellors when they need to delay a creditortaking action against a client. The rule is excepted wherethe lender believes (reasonably) that they need to acturgently, such as where the goods or money they couldreclaim were going to be sold or gambled away.Additional changesThe laws have also been changed to give the courtpowers to deal with lenders who act unfairly ordishonestly when providing credit, and have caused theborrower to owe a fee or to have entered into a contractwhich they would not have undertaken had they knownall the facts. The court now has wide powers to makeorders that correct unfair or dishonest behaviour, and tostop the lender from profiting from this behaviour.The government has also taken steps to ensure that theinformation required to be given by consumer leaseproviders is more in alignment with that which must beprovided by other credit providers, and which enableslessees to be more informed about the status of thelease. The government has deemed that a statement isprovided to the lessee at least annually, stating that theywill not own the goods once the lease ends, and statingthat they have no obligation or right to purchase thegoods once this occurs. Additionally, the lessor mustnow provide a statement whenever the lessee requestsone. This must detail outstanding amounts, theparticulars of any amounts which were credited ordebited to the account, amounts payable, and the dateat which it will become payable.Finally, there has been some concern at the practice ofcreditors seeking to deduct repayments for a debtdirectly from the wages earned by the borrower’semployment. The authorisation process for this form ofrepayment has now been standardised, by requiringthat, where the lender seeks to obtain payment from thewages, the employer is given a statement outlining thedetails of the repayment plan. If the borrower is in defaultand the lender seeks to remedy this by obtaining wagesfrom an employer, they must submit this statement andmust also provide at least 7 day’s notice to the borrowerof their intention to do so.Sharkwatch March 2013. Volume 14, Number 1 11

Acronyms and websites for commonlyaccessed organisationsAcronym Organisation Website (hyperlinked)AAT Administrative Appeals Tribunal www.aat.gov.au/ABN Australian Business Number http://abr.business.gov.auABS Australian Bureau of Statistics www.abs.gov.au/ACAT (ACT) ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal http://www.acat.act.gov.auACCC Australian Competition and Consumer Commission www.accc.gov.au/ACMA Australian Communications and Media Authority www.acma.gov.au/AER Australian Energy Regulator http://www.aer.gov.auAPRA Australian Prudential Regulation Authority www.apra.gov.au/ASIC Australian Securities and Investment Commission www.asic.gov.au/ATO Australian Taxation Office www.ato.gov.au/AUSTRAC Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre www.austrac.gov.au/CAFT (Tas) Office of Consumer Affairs & Fair Trading Tasmania http://www.consumer.tas.gov.au/homeCALC (Vic) Consumer Action Law Centre (Victoria) www.consumeraction.org.au/CAV (Vic) Consumer Affairs Victoria http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/CBS (SA) Consumer and Business Services South Australia http://www.cbs.sa.gov.au/CCLC (NSW) Consumer Credit Legal Centre (NSW) www.cclcnsw.org.au/CFC Commonwealth Financial Counselling www.fahcsia.gov.au/our-responsibilities/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programs-services/commonwealth-financialcounselling-cfcCJC (NSW) Community Justice Centres (NSW) www.cjc.nsw.gov.au/Complaint Line Complaint Line — EDR details for multiple services http://www.complaintline.com.au/index.htmlCOSL Credit Ombudsman Service Limited www.cosl.com.au/CPWA Consumer Protection Western Australia www.commerce.wa.gov.au/ConsumerProtection/CSA Child Support Agency www.humanservices.gov.au/CTTT (NSW) Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (NSW) www.cttt.nsw.gov.au/DoW (WA) Department of Water (Western Australia) http://www.water.wa.gov.au/DPP (Cwlth) Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions www.cdpp.gov.au/EOT (Tas) Energy Ombudsman Tasmania http://www.energyombudsman.tas.gov.au/EOWA (WA) Energy Ombudsman Western Australia http://www.ombudsman.wa.gov.au/energy/EWON (NSW) Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW www.ewon.com.au/EWOQ (Qld) Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland http://www.ewoq.com.au/EWOSA (SA) Energy and Water Ombudsman South Australia http://www.eiosa.com.au/12www.wesleymission.org.au/sharkwatch

Acronym Organisation Website (hyperlinked)EWOV (Vic) Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria http://www.ewov.com.au/FAHCSIADept of Families, Housing, Community Servicesand Indigenous Affairswww.fahcsia.gov.au/FCA Financial Counselling Australia www.financialcounsellingaustralia.org.au/FC-ACT (ACT) Financial Counselling Australian Capital Territory No website as yetFCAN (NSW) Financial Counsellors Association of NSW Inc. www.fcan.com.au/FCAQ (Qld) Financial Counsellors Ass. of Queensland Inc. http://www.fcqn.asn.au/default.aspxFCAWA (WA) Financial Counsellors Ass. of Western Australia http://www.financialcounsellors.org/FCRC (Vic) Financial and Consumer Rights Council Inc. http://fcrc.org.au/FCT (Tas) Financial Counselling Tasmania http://www.truelocal.com.au/business/financial-counselling-tasmania-inc/hobartFOS Financial Ombudsman Service www.fos.org.au/ITSA Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia www.itsa.gov.au/MWANT Money Workers Association, Northern Territory No website as yetNICRINational Information Centre on RetirementInvestments Inc.www.nicri.org.au/NTCA (NT) Northern Territory Consumer Affairs http://www.consumeraffairs.nt.gov.au/OAICOffice of the Australian Information Commissioner http://www.oaic.gov.au/OCBA (SA) Office of Consumer and Business Affairs SA http://www.cbs.sa.gov.au/aboutOFT (NSW) Office of Fair Trading — New South Wales www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/OFT (Qld) Office of Fair Trading — Queensland http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/index.htmONT Ombudsman Northern Territory http://www.ombudsman.nt.gov.au/ORS (ACT) Office of Regulatory Services ACT (Fair Trading) www.ors.act.gov.au/community/fair_tradingOTas (Tas) Ombudsman Tasmania http://www.ombudsman.tas.gov.au/PBS Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme www.pbs.gov.au/PHIO Private Health Insurance Ombudsman www.phio.org.au/PPSR Personal Property Security Register www.ppsr.gov.au/QCAT (Qld) Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal http://www.qcat.qld.gov.au/RBA Reserve Bank of Australia www.rba.gov.auRTA (Qld) Residential Tenancy Authority (Queensland) http://www.rta.qld.gov.au/RTT (SA) Residential Tenancies Tribunal South Australia www.sa.gov.au/tenancy/tribunalSAFCA (SA) The South Australian Financial Counsellors Ass. http://www.safca.info/SDRO (NSW) State Debt Recovery Office (NSW) www.sdro.nsw.gov.au/SharkwatchSharkwatch: The Australian Financial CounsellingJournalSSAT Social Security Appeals Tribunal www.ssat.gov.au/TIO Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman www.tio.com.au/TUV (Vic) Tenants Union of Victoria http://www.tuv.org.au/http://www.wesleymission.org.au/centres/creditline/Industry/Sharkwatch/default.aspVCAT (Vic) Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal http://www.vcat.vic.gov.au/Sharkwatch March 2013. Volume 14, Number 1 13

FCA UpdateFiona GuthrieCEO, Financial Counselling AustraliaNew Legal Recognition of the Term “FinancialCounsellor”Legal protection of the terms “financial counsellor” and“financial counselling” took effect from 1 st March 2013.Our twitter update said it all really: “Today we'recelebrating a milestone: legal protection for the term'financial counsellor'. We are free, confidential andimpartial - by law!”A breach of the relevant provision in the NationalConsumer Credit Protection Act attracts a penalty of2,000 penalty points.Changes to the Credit Laws from 1 st March, 2013There were some important changes to the credit lawson 1 st March. These cover hardship, payday lending,reverse mortgages and consumer leases. Hopefully allfinancial counsellors will have received information fromFCA that summarises the changes. In particular, weissued a Practice Note about payday lenders. We plan toissue further Practice Notes on issues relevant tocasework in the future.CitibankIn June, 2012, FCA put together a set of case studiesfrom around Australia documenting problems financialcounsellors and their clients were experiencing whendealing with Citibank. These cases were also sent toboth ASIC and the CCMC. Citibank responded in aproblem-solving way and undertook to make a numberof changes. Feedback from financial counsellorscontinues to indicate that the systemic problems arecontinuing. There is a meeting planned with Citibanklater this month. We will let you know the next steps.Financial Counsellor AuthorisationHave you ever had a bank reject your third partyauthority? If so, you’ll be pleased to hear that theseproblems will soon be a thing of the past. After nearlytwo years of negotiation, the banking industry andfinancial counsellors have agreed on a standard thirdparty authorisation form that all banks will accept. Thiswill hopefully lead to more efficient and consistentcommunication between financial counsellors and thebanks. The new form will be rolled out later in the year.Thanks to Richard Brading, Ian Macdonald and Kat Lanefor their assistance in providing advice about the formand in negotiations.Debt Self Help Website and ToolFCA has finalised a new website targeted at people infinancial difficulty – www.debtselfhelp.org.au. There arefact sheets, sample letters and an online assessmenttool. The tool has the capacity to provide information andassistance on a number of financial issues to a muchbroader range of consumers and therefore increaseaccess more generally to financial counselling.Debt Repayment Service - A PilotAs noted in the last few editions of Sharkwatch, workcontinues on a pilot of a free Debt Repayment Service(DRS), a joint initiative between the financial counselling/community sector and a number of financial servicesproviders.The aim of the DRS is to assist people who havemultiple creditors, but cannot pay all of their debts. TheDRS will negotiate one affordable payment (usually withinterest waived and the debts written down). Theconsumer’s payment is then distributed pro rata tocreditors, thus providing an option for consumers that isnot available at present. The DRS is a not-for-profit entityand may eventually apply for charitable status.The DRS pilot, with just 30 clients, has yet to commenceas there are still legal issues to be sorted out.Long Term HardshipIn recent years, the issue of how to respond tocustomers experiencing long-term financial hardship hasbeen the subject of ongoing discussions between a widerange of stakeholders: the ABA, individual banks, FOS,consumer advocates, debt collectors and ASIC.One of the difficulties is that we don’t have a clearunderstanding of the issue, given the manyperspectives. Discussions have often been at crosspurposes.In an attempt to move the debate forward, anumber of stakeholders are involved in a collaborativeproject that will at least try and document the variousviews and perspectives. This involves the AustralianBankers Association, FCA, Legal Aid NSW, Victoria14 www.wesleymission.org.au/sharkwatch

Legal Aid, FOS and COSL. This group will oversee theengagement of a consultant to prepare an Issues Paper.Based on interviews with key people and groups,including financial counsellors, the issues paper will thenform the basis for a Roundtable later in the year. Atleast we have a way forward.FCA Conference, EDR Forum – May 2013Don’t forget to check out the program for the FCAConference and the EDR Forum. You can find them bygoing to the FCA home page and clicking through to thespecial conference website.Find out about positive credit reporting, the NDIS andhow our sector is changing. Ross Gittins, the well knownand respected economist with the Sydney MorningHerald, is the keynote speaker at the EDR Forum.Make the most of any travel by attending a preconferenceTwilight Workshop, the evening before.These workshops allow you to dive deep into a topic.This year one workshop is on Motivational Interviewing,and the other is the Bankruptcy Masterclass. And finally,David Tennant is the keynote speaker at the JanPentland Foundation Dinner.Fiona Guthriefiona.guthrie@financialcounsellingaustralia.org.auTwitter: @FCAupdateNew South WalesNew FCAN ExecutiveAt the end of last year, a new Executive was elected forFCAN with Vicki Geraghty as President, Lynette Braileyas Vice-President, Maria Hatch as Secretary and DebbieHannaway as Membership Secretary. Other Executivemembers are: Noel Duffin, Fiona Eaton, Alex Kelly, GabrielleLocke, Wendy Maile, Jenny Reid and Peter Schulz.“Moneylink” ProjectFCAN is starting the year embarking on an excitingproject, known as the “Moneylink” Project whichproposes an innovative approach to improving servicecoordination and assisting vulnerable people buildfinancial health and well-being. The Project is funded byFaHCSIA and will run through the duration of 2013.In general terms, the project is a pilot program, tooperate in three local government areas in NSW, whichwill aim to create better integration between emergencyrelief services, financial counselling services and othercommunity organisations. Initially, the emphasis in theproject will be to work primarily with emergency reliefservices to create greater awareness and understandingof financial counselling, with the overall objective tocreate sustainable life changes for those who accessemergency relief services.FCAN has appointed a very experienced financialcounsellor with substantial training experience to be thecoordinator of the project, and other financial counsellorswill be recruited to be project officers in each of the threelocal government areas where the pilot program willoperate. Two of the locations are in the Greater Sydneyarea and the third location is in regional NSW. Thisproject builds on earlier training which was provided toemergency relief workers throughout NSW, and ifsufficiently successful, it will provide a model by whichservice integration may be created throughout NSW.FCAN TrainingThe FCAN training program is already underway with aBasic Counselling Course having commenced in mid-February and a Financial Counselling Coursecommencing in the last week of February. This financialcounselling course will be conducted over twenty weeksfor one day a week ending in early July. Also, anAboriginal Financial Counselling Course commenced inFebruary. FCAN receives funding from the NSWDepartment of Fair Trading (OFT) to conduct one ofthese courses annually, which have been groundbreakingto train financial counsellors who will be workingwith Aboriginal clients, and to support specific ATSIfinancial counselling services funded by OFT.Policies and Procedures CommitteeDuring this year, it is planned that the Policy andProcedures Committee will be developing and improvingtwo major policy areas for the benefit of the membership.Firstly, the constitution of FCAN will be workshopped andundergo a very thorough process of consultation toproduce an updated document, which will comply withthe local legislation applicable to associations such asFCAN. Secondly, the process of accreditation formembers, which has been the subject of discussion forsome time, will be comprehensively reviewed so that thehighest standards are maintained for financialcounsellors to be accredited in NSW.Ross Butler, FCAN Executive OfficerSharkwatch March 2013. Volume 14, Number 1 15

Australian Capital TerritoryHappy New Year Everyone,I hope all of you had a welcomebreak over the festive seasonand have come back this year fullof good health and vigour.FC-ACT invited Hannan Amin (Financial LiteracyOutreach Educator-Community Engagement) fromMoney Smart to our meeting on 7 th February 2013.Hannan spoke to us about Responsible Lending, TheCredit Enhancing Bill and ASIC Regulation Guide. It wasgreat to have a refresher course on this material.Hannan also informed us that Money Smart wasreleasing new material for young people in March sokeep an eye on the Money Smart website.The members of FC-ACT are thrilled with our new logo.The Bluebell is the flower of the ACT and we have afunky $ sign to go with it. Now we have a logo we arenow a “real Association” I hope it brings a smile to all ofyou. We like it!Bye for now; hopefully a lot of the FC-ACT members willcatch up with our friends and colleagues from the otherstates at the FCA Conference in Sydney.Rachael Milfull, Chairperson FC-ACTNorthern TerritoryG’day from the Territory. Our focus this year is to buildand consolidate our association. Fiona helped us toform a fantastic strategic plan which we are currentlysharing with our members. We are busy planning 2013,trying to obtain funding for MWANT, and having a twoday MWANT conference in November utilising FaHCSIAIndigenous Coordination Centre video/teleconferencing.We acknowledge FCAWA for their assistance to the nonCovert Art Needed !!!!!The new format Sharkwatch cover features artwork fromfinancial counsellors and their clients. These may bepaintings, photographs, or images of any sort of artworkor craftwork. Send pictures as high resolution jpeg filesto Wayne Warburton, Lyn Brailey, or Lynne Flynn. Email:wayne.warburton@mq.edu.au or sharkwatch@wesleymission.org.au.-funded states and look forward to working closely withthem.The Power and Water price increases from the start ofthe year have now hit our clients, and agencies havebeen inundated with requests for assistance. Mostagencies have exhausted their emergency relief funds,leaving many clients with no other options for help. Withonly one supplier, clients can’t shop around for a betterdeal!!There are still a few financial counselling and moneymanagement worker vacant positions around the NT anda few organisations are on mad recruitment drives! Ifanyone feels like a sea (or desert) change, I recommendgo for it!Eric Neil, MWANT State PresidentSouth AustraliaHappy New Year. Hopefully you managed to have abreak and spend some time with family and friends oversummer. It feels like Christmas was a very long timeago!!Whilst we have complained about the extreme heat inSA this summer we are extremely fortunate that wehaven’t had to endure the floods still being experiencedby QLD and NSW. These events will no doubt beplacing numerous community services under enormouspressure, but they will provide many with a huge amountof hope and support.There have been many changes to the SAFCAExecutive with a new president and 5 new memberscoming on board. We have a diverse and dynamic mixof members and it is great to see them, and theirorganisations, providing such strong support to SAFCA.Several financial counselling services offer additionalsupport to SAFCA by providing venues for meetings andstaff to assist with functions, as well as websitemaintenance. Without this support it would be extremelydifficult for SAFCA to exist, so many thanks.I would like to thank our outgoing President SharonBrinkley for enormous amount of work she has doneover the past 2 years. Sharon took over at a time whenthe number of government funded financial counsellorswas being significantly reduced. This was a challengingtime and meant she was kept busy working with manyconcerned groups trying to contest the changes. Sharon16 www.wesleymission.org.au/sharkwatch

spent a lot of time working behind the scenes advocatingfor our client’s needs, as well as those of our members.Another great achievement was the 2011 conference,which nearly all SAFCA members attended.Strengthening the professionalism of financialcounselling in South Australia is a key focus of theSAFCA executive this year. We aim to develop morerobust procedures and standards for governance andmembership, and guidelines such as the FCA minimumstandards and Ethical Code of Practice form the frameworkfor such improvements. Our constitution is in theprocess of being updated to reflect the changes in ourindustry and ensure we comply with ASIC regulations.We are also working towards refreshing and updatingour website to make it easier for the general public andmembers to access information and resources easily.Probably the biggest focus for us this year will be ourtwo day conference in Adelaide on Monday 26 th andTuesday 27 th August. The committee is working hard toput together an interesting and inspiring two day eventthat will cater to both experienced and new financialcounsellors. We have received many expressions ofinterest from organisations wishing to be involved. Wewill let you know more in the next few months.Anne Crouch, President SAFCAWestern AustraliaIf we (the Financial Counselling sector) had 5 minutesunrestricted access to all media – TV, Radio, and print -what would we say and who would say it?This is the question FCAWA started 2013 with and onethat we are yet to answer.Financial Counselling services in WA have waiting listsof between 2 – 8 weeks. Services are generally bookingappointments two weeks in advance and then due to thehigh and constant demand are keeping waiting lists.Increases in utility costs coupled with high rents are theissues that most services are reporting as the reasonsconsumers are seeking assistance. When you begin toexplore the reasons behind why utilities are not beingpaid, the complexity of the client’s financial situationbecomes clearer and increases the number of caseworkhours required to bring about a successful outcome forthe client.FCAWA has made some changes to the wayProfessional Development is delivered and howFinancial Counsellors register for attendance. WA istrialling online delivery to Financial Counsellors in ruraland remote area so that they can access the PD that isdelivered in the Metropolitan area.An Expression of Interest document was developed andsent to Financial Counsellors so they could identify thetopics they wanted to attend. The response wasoverwhelming with all the feedback so far being positive.Financial Counsellors are notified by email and aMicrosoft Outlook Calendar invitation, if they have beensuccessful in registering for a session.The benefits for financial counsellors’ are:• They can select the sessions that are of most interestover the next 5 months• They can plan their CPD well in advance• FCAWA will send calendar invites to successfulFinancial Counsellors• Automatic reminders will be sent prior to the sessionThe benefits for FCAWA are:• FCAWA can identify sessions with high demandearlier to assist in the development of future sessionsor if demand is high, re-run the session• It assists FCAWA to cater for demand - for example,suitability of venue and catering.This would be a great opportunity to remind all readersthat the FCAWA Annual Conference is being held:Monday 14 th to Friday 18 th October 2013 – make sureyou put those dates into your calendar.Western Australia looks forward to continuing workingwith the other States in advancing Financial Counsellingin Australia.Charlie Brown, FCAWA Executive OfficerContributions and feedbackSharkwatch welcomes and encourages readers tosubmit articles and provide feedback on what they haveread. Submit any contributions as a word document (withpictures as jpeg files) to Wayne Warburton, Lyn Brailey,or Lynne Flynn. Email: wayne.warburton@mq.edu.au orsharkwatch@wesleymission.org.au.Sharkwatch March 2013. Volume 14, Number 1 17

Visa to outlaw hefty credit card feesStory by Glenda KwekHefty credit card surcharges could be on the way outafter Visa became the first company to ban Australianretailers from slapping on the fees. The new rules followa Reserve Bank of Australia review and give credit cardcompanies the power to force retailers to limit what theycharge consumers to use credit and charge cards.New rules come into force on Monday, which Visa saysit will use to restrict surcharges to as little as one percent.Among the biggest culprits accused of using surchargesas a revenue source are taxi companies, who place a 10per cent surcharge on customers who pay with theircredit card. Airlines and some retailers have also beenaccused by consumer group Choice of over-the-top fees.However independent eftpos provider Tyro Paymentssays the major banks were also to blame, imposingunnecessary fees on struggling small retailers, who thenpass the costs onto customers. "The truth is many smallbusinesses are being forced to fund the lucrative loyaltyprograms of the major banks, by absorbing these costs,"Tyro spokesman Mr Jost Stollmann said in a statement.If MasterCard, AMEX and Diners Club follow Visa's suitit would save Australian consumers an estimated $350million a year based on spending on card transactionslast year, Mr Stollmann said.‘Overdue'Consumer advocacy group Choice welcomed thechanges, which it had been campaigning for. ''This issomething that we've spent years calling for. ... Theproof now will be on whether some of the highestsurcharges - particularly the airlines and the taxi industry- actually start to reduce their fees as a result of thesechanges,'' Choice's head of campaigns, Matt Levey,said. “We are optimistic, but it remains to be seen howsoon [others act] and whether some merchants try andget around this by applying surcharges under anothername.''Cards actAmerican Express spokesman Fritz Quinn said the firmhad updated its terms and conditions to take in the newRBA regulations."We have updated our merchants’ terms and conditionsto say that any merchants who want to surcharge, thatthe surcharge should be reasonably related to the costof accepting American Express," Mr Quinn said, addingthat the majority of Australian businesses did not usesurcharges. "Surcharging is such an anti-consumerpractice that people tend to vote with their feet. So ifthey feel like they are being taken advantage of, they'regoing to go some place where they don't have to paythat surcharge."MasterCard said it was not commenting at this time.ReviewThe new rules follow a Reserve Bank of Australiareview and give credit card companies the power toforce retailers to limit what they charge consumers touse credit and charge cards.Tyro Payments said more than 36 per cent of Australianbusinesses, or 100,000 companies, impose some typeof surcharge on a customer's bill, leaving 64 per cent or200,000 - the majority - doing the right thing.AMEX and Diners Club card transactions attractsurcharges of 3-4 per cent and Visa and Mastercardabout 2 per cent, according to the RBA, compared tothe banks' service fees of only 0.85 per cent.Businesses who refuse to comply with the lowercharges face warnings, fines and possible terminationunder the legislation.It is understood Cabcharge's 10 per cent surchargeadded $90 million in revenue during the 2012 financialyear. Cabcharge's founder Reg Kermode said a fewweeks ago that he did not believe the Reserve Bankcould force it to comply with the new rules.Discount airline Jetstar told Fairfax Media last week itno longer had a credit card surcharge, and only chargeda booking and service fee. Jetstar added that it wouldbe looking into the new policies to see if further changeswould be needed.Qantas said last week that claims it was profiting fromits surcharges was wrong. "The income we get fromsurcharges does not exceed our costs and never hasdone," a Qantas spokesman said.Sydney Morning Herald, March 18, 201318 www.wesleymission.org.au/sharkwatch