Financial hardship affects many levels of society and can directly impact on a healthy wellbeing. UnitingCare Community operates a state-wide financial counselling program that provides people in financial distress with financial assistance and advice.

Lifeline Financial counsellors help people with a wide range of financial problems. As well as encouraging clients to get out of the cycle of debt and take control of their finances, assistance is provided through education, counselling and acting on consumer rights.

Financial counsellors are on the ground, fighting the battle with clients, using exceptional negotiation and advocacy skills to negotiate with often un-sympathetic creditors.

Financial counsellors provide community education to a range of community and professional groups including schools, TAFEs, community centres, government and non-government community agencies.

In 2005, UnitingCare Community implemented the Diploma of Community Services (Financial Counselling). Offering an accredited course for its financial counsellors was a natural progression for UnitingCare Community, an organisation that prides itself on offering free, high quality financial counselling services to encourage and assist people to manage their financial affairs.

Having accredited financial counsellors ensures UnitingCare Community is positioned to offer quality financial counselling services to the community, particularly assisting large organisations in the burgeoning area of early intervention prevention, debt repayment plans and consumer credit issues. 

Progressive organisations such as Origin and Ergon Energy have identified financial counselling as an effective and community-minded alternative to traditional debt collection.

Please refer to the map on the right to find out where Lifeline Financial Counsellors are located. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, please contact a financial counsellor or call our Financial First Aid line on 1300 370 255 between 9am-6pm Monday to Friday.