Struggling With Debt? Financial Counselling Might Help!
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Legal Corner
Financial counselling is a free and confidential service offered by not-for-profit community organisations. They often provide services within prisons – ask if financial counsellors are available at your location. You may also be able to access a financial counsellor by phone, either arranged via your caseworker or with the contact details below.
Financial counsellors are skilled professionals who provide advice and support to people struggling with bills and debt. A free financial counsellor can help you explore your options, negotiate with your creditors, put plans in place to manage your debts and get your finances back under control.
Financial counsellors have specific knowledge about the credit, bankruptcy and debt collection laws, social security framework, grants and concessions available to help with cost of living, industry hardship obligations and how to access free dispute resolution through independent dispute resolution schemes. They are also trained in negotiation and counselling.
Financial counsellors CAN assist you by:
- doing a full assessment of your financial situation – including regular income and expenditure, assets and liabilities
- understanding which debts are priorities
- developing a workable budget and money plan with you
- explaining your rights and the pros and cons of different options you have to manage your debts and financial hardship
- advocating and negotiating on your behalf directly with your creditors
- lodging complaints on your behalf to external dispute resolution schemes
- providing advice about what options, rights and responsibilities you may have
- referring you to other services you may need, such as legal services, health services and crisis food and accommodation services
Financial counselling is a free and confidential service offered by not-for-profit community organisations. They often provide services within prisons – ask if financial counsellors are available at your location. You may also be able to access a financial counsellor by phone, either arranged via your caseworker or with the contact details below.
Financial counsellors are skilled professionals who provide advice and support to people struggling with bills and debt. A free financial counsellor can help you explore your options, negotiate with your creditors, put plans in place to manage your debts and get your finances back under control.
Financial counsellors have specific knowledge about the credit, bankruptcy and debt collection laws, social security framework, grants and concessions available to help with cost of living, industry hardship obligations and how to access free dispute resolution through independent dispute resolution schemes. They are also trained in negotiation and counselling.
Financial counsellors CAN assist you by:
- doing a full assessment of your financial situation – including regular income and expenditure, assets and liabilities
- understanding which debts are priorities
- developing a workable budget and money plan with you
- explaining your rights and the pros and cons of different options you have to manage your debts and financial hardship
- advocating and negotiating on your behalf directly with your creditors
- lodging complaints on your behalf to external dispute resolution schemes
- providing advice about what options, rights and responsibilities you may have
- referring you to other services you may need, such as legal services, health services and crisis food and accommodation services
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Financial counsellors CAN also provide information and advice about:
- credit and debt related matters
- the rights and obligations of creditors
- how the debt collection and debt enforcement process works
- the pros and cons of bankruptcy and other insolvency options
- how to access other specialist support services, including gambling, family support, personal counselling, legal aid and emergency relief
Financial counsellors DON’T:
- charge any set up fees and/or ongoing fees for their service
- receive any payments or commissions from third parties for their services
- lend money
- complete tax returns
- provide debt consolidation services
- provide investment advice (that’s the role of financial planners)
National Debt Helpline – 1800 007 007
The free National Debt Helpline is open from 9:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.
When you call, you'll be transferred to the service in your state.
Mob Strong Debt Helpline – 1800 808 488
Mob Strong Debt Helpline is a free legal advice service about money matters for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from anywhere in Australia.
The helpline is open from 9:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.
Small Business Debt Helpline – 1800 413 828
If your business is in financial difficulty, call the Small Business Debt Helpline. The Helpline is open 9:00am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday.
Financial counsellors CAN also provide information and advice about:
- credit and debt related matters
- the rights and obligations of creditors
- how the debt collection and debt enforcement process works
- the pros and cons of bankruptcy and other insolvency options
- how to access other specialist support services, including gambling, family support, personal counselling, legal aid and emergency relief
Financial counsellors DON’T:
- charge any set up fees and/or ongoing fees for their service
- receive any payments or commissions from third parties for their services
- lend money
- complete tax returns
- provide debt consolidation services
- provide investment advice (that’s the role of financial planners)
National Debt Helpline – 1800 007 007
The free National Debt Helpline is open from 9:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.
When you call, you'll be transferred to the service in your state.
Mob Strong Debt Helpline – 1800 808 488
Mob Strong Debt Helpline is a free legal advice service about money matters for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from anywhere in Australia.
The helpline is open from 9:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.
Small Business Debt Helpline – 1800 413 828
If your business is in financial difficulty, call the Small Business Debt Helpline. The Helpline is open 9:00am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday.
Welcome to the Legal Corner
Welcome to the Legal Corner
Welcome to the Legal Corner
By About Time
By About Time
Through these articles, we provide information on relevant areas of law. This first article provides basic information to make it easier for family and friends to support you. There are differences in the ways the systems operate depending on where you’re located (VIC, NSW, ACT or TAS), so we hope this is useful and relevant to where you are.
Legal Corner
ISSUE NO. 1
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7 MIN READ
Solitary Confinement as a Sentencing Factor
Solitary Confinement as a Sentencing Factor
Solitary Confinement as a Sentencing Factor
By Prisoners Legal Service
By Prisoners Legal Service
If a prisoner is detained in solitary confinement, the conditions they face in custody are significantly more challenging compared to the general prison population. In some cases, this may be taken into account by a sentencing court and result in a shorter sentence being imposed.
Legal Corner
ISSUE NO. 13
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2 MIN READ
Human Rights in Prison
Human Rights in Prison
Human Rights in Prison
By Human Rights Law Centre
By Human Rights Law Centre
All people behind bars should be treated with dignity.
Legal Corner
ISSUE NO. 10
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6 MIN READ
How to Complain to the Ombudsman
How to Complain to the Ombudsman
How to Complain to the Ombudsman
By About Time
By About Time
The Ombudsman is an independent organisation that oversees complaints against government decisions and actions. Each state/territory has their own Ombudsman. The Ombudsman responds to a complaint by investigating from both sides what has happened and why.
Legal Corner
ISSUE NO. 2
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8 MIN READ
Open Air in Prison: Your Rights Explained
By Human Rights Law Centre and Prisoners’ Legal Service
With people in prisons across the country being subjected to an “epidemic of prison lockdowns”, it is important to note that bare minimum safeguards exist in law, in most jurisdictions, that purport to guarantee at least some time ‘in the open air’ each day for people behind bars.
Legal Corner
ISSUE NO. 22
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5 MIN READ
Law and Healthcare: Why Can’t I Get My Usual Prescriptions From Prison?
By Prisoners' Legal Service Queensland
There is a lot of talk about human rights in prison – with things like ‘the Mandela Rules’, ‘the principle of equivalence’, and access to health care without discrimination.
Legal Corner
ISSUE NO. 21
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2 MIN READ
Self-Advocacy from Prison: Procedural Fairness
By Dan Vansetten
Procedural fairness, often called “natural justice”, is a collection of rights, established under common law in Australia around the 1980s.
Legal Corner
ISSUE NO. 21
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2 MIN READ
What Happens to Your Debts While You’re Inside?
By Prisoner Legal Service Queensland
Generally, debts can be put into two categories. First, there are private debts (e.g. from a bank, a landlord, a car dealer, or ‘Afterpay’). Second, there are debts owed to the State (e.g. unpaid fines).
Legal Corner