Lutheran Care’s Financial Wellbeing services in South Australia and the Northern Territory support people experiencing a financial crisis.

Our Financial Counsellors and Financial Capability Workers can also assist with skills and strategies to help clients improve their overall financial situation.

Every day our staff turn up for our clients, support them through challenges and help them move closer to their goals.

Assistance such as supporting a client to set up a payment plan for their electricity or achieving a debt waiver can make a huge difference for those that we work with.

Here are some recent wins our clients have had, with support from our dedicated Financial Wellbeing team:

• One client felt immense relief and finally had the ability to move forward with life after our Financial Counsellor successfully helped to waive $15,000 of traffic fines/enforcements. The client had been through a very tough period in their life and was grateful to avoid having to go to court to dispute the fines.
• Another Financial Counsellor had been working with a client since May last year. The client stopped attending appointments in November, but returned this year needing assistance to prevent their phone from being disconnected. During previous sessions, our Financial Counsellor had identified that distractions, impulse control challenges, lateness and difficulty following through on tasks were major barriers to the client improving their financial management. The client recognised this too and decided to prioritise mental health last year before continuing with financial counselling, so they could better engage with and commit to plans. Since then, the client had secured a grant for an ADHD assessment but was nervous about completing it. Our counsellor was able to share their own lived experience with an assessment and reassured the client through the process. This made a meaningful difference in helping them take a really important step forward to complete the assessment.
• One Financial Counsellor assisted a client to successfully receive an Emergency Electricity Payment Scheme matched payment, meaning $1600 was waived from bills. This scheme assists electricity customers experiencing financial hardship and helps with debts and disconnection.

Financial Counselling is an opportunity to have a free and confidential chat with a qualified person about your finances.

If you or someone else you know would benefit from Financial Counselling, find out more, including how to make an appointment, on our website.