This September, financial counselling practice staff from Financial Rights Legal Centre and Mob Strong Debt Help attended the Financial Counsellors Association of NSW (FCAN) state conference.  The FCAN conference is precious time spent off the phone lines, and is a great opportunity for our hard-working staff to meet with friends and colleagues from across the state.

The theme this year was Riding the Wave of Complexity, and included a special presentation by Betty Weule AM celebrating 50 years of financial counselling in Australia.

The presentations covered a range of topics which target the increasing complexity and needs of our clients including small business, bankruptcy, referrals to legal services as well as working with important stakeholders including the ATO, banks, utilities and regulators such as AFCA, AFSA and ASIC.

Financial Rights team members including Director of Advice Erin Mulally, and Solicitor Mike Dunkley also participated in panels, providing legal insights to financial counsellors managing cases for their clients.

We asked the team about their personal highlights:

“It was inspiring to hear from Aunty Betty about how much has changed thanks to the hard work and advocacy of financial counsellors and it makes me excited for the future as the great work continues”.

“My highlight was the bankruptcy workshop. The attention and intelligent questions from the financial counsellors not only demonstrated their keen interest, but also their skill and care when helping their clients”.

“It is always a highlight hearing from AFCA, excited to see what they’re doing in the scams space next year!”

“As always, the break times provide a great opportunity to catch up and network with people we email or see online, but can finally meet in person. Ideas are exchanged, conversations started and connections made, all enriching our work”.

“I have not attended a FCAN Conference for some time, so it was great to see some of the old stagers still battling away out there representing their clients in the best possible way. I was reminiscing with a colleague about the situations Financial Counsellors struggled with in the past, and how the support from FCAN and organisations such as ours was now much more accessible than the “good (bad) old days”. The training was on point with the situations that face our clients every day. I will say my highlight was the bankruptcy training which for the first time the covered practical support and the nuts and bolts of what a trustee in bankruptcy does. The invitation for a trustee to contribute to the training was epic”.

My first FCAN Conference, and what a great introduction! A wonderful location, fantastic people, great conversations and plenty of opportunities to learn, connect and have a laugh along the way. The breakout sessions were both informative and enjoyable, with plenty to take away and think about — including learning how to “Think Like an AFCA Decision Maker”. All in all, a wonderful first FCAN Conference experience.”

Thank you to the team at FCAN for hosting such a great event.