Insights and opportunities from the Victorian Financial Counsellors Summit

The summit provided a platform to explore the critical role financial counselling plays in community recovery, as well as ongoing challenges related to insurance affordability, claims processes, income loss, and housing instability.

Image: AIDR

Throughout the day, speakers shared lived experience, frontline practice insights, and reflections on broader, systemic challenges in disaster recovery. Financial counsellors described how repeated events can compound hardship and stress, particularly for small businesses, older people and those already experiencing financial difficulty.

Many speakers highlighted the trusted role counsellors play within local and informal support networks, providing advocacy, continuity and practical support well beyond the initial relief phase. Participants also noted that people are often more likely to seek financial assistance before accessing formal mental health support, highlighting financial counselling as a key early intervention point within recovery.

Despite their critical role, there was broad consensus that financial councillors are often engaged too late or treated as a secondary service. Ongoing concerns were also raised about insurance affordability, widespread underinsurance and inconsistent claims processes. Poor communication, limited awareness of rights and a general lack of transparency were seen to delay recovery, increase stress, and contribute to negative mental health impacts.

Overall, discussions consistently reinforced that financial recovery should not be a secondary consideration, as it is fundamental to equitable, effective and long-term community recovery. Building on these insights, speakers identified earlier and more systematic integration of financial counselling into preparedness and recovery planning as a key opportunity to improve recovery outcomes. Stronger coordination between insurers, banks, community services, and recovery organisations was also highlighted as a critical opportunity to reduce complexity and improve people’s recovery experiences.

For AIDR, the summit reinforced the importance of recognising financial recovery as an integral component of disaster recovery planning and practice, and the value of embedding financial counselling expertise earlier, more deliberately and more consistently before, during and after disasters to support more equitable, and sustained community recovery.

For more information, visit Financial Counselling Victoria