Speak to our friendly team to be pointed in the right direction!
Call: 1800 025 539
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If you're a resident of South Australia and require guidance or support in managing living costs or budgeting, the Helpline is here to assist you. This service offers valuable information, advice, and referrals to suitable resources such as financial counselling, case work, advocacy, and community education.
The Helpline operates Monday to Thursday from 9:30 am to 8:00 pm, and on Fridays from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm (excluding public holidays). To access the information, support, or referrals you need, simply contact the Helpline on 1800 025 539.
For added convenience, you can also download the Affordable SA App, which grants you access to a comprehensive library of resources to help address your specific needs. The app is available on the Apple App Store here, and on the Google Play Store here.
The Australian Refugee Association (ARA) supports newly arrived communities and individuals, empowering clients to participate actively in all aspects of life in Australia.
ARA offers financial counselling in partnership with UnitingCare Wesley Bowden. This service provides budgeting, information and advocacy for people experiencing financial difficulties.
ARA also provide small one-off payments for eligible clients to provide assistance with utility bills. They also provide information, advocacy and referrals in relation to budgeting and financial matters.
For more information, contact an office near you.
The Australian Migrant Resource Centre (AMRC) specialises in humanitarian and migrant settlement, and community capacity building and development for young people, women and other migrants, empowering them through training and employment initiatives. By assisting to build community, the AMRC supports new arrivals and their new and establishing groups and communities to engage with and contribute effectively to South Australia’s society, culture, economy and environment.
The AMRC helps clients navigate their finances independently and provides financial management strategies as well as basic budgeting education and assistance. Where needed, they refer clients to financial counselling. The AMRC also provides emergency financial assistance during times of community crises, such as a funeral or a terminal illness, or to clients who are unable to pay their bills due to crisis situations.
Banks offer basic bank accounts with no account keeping fees and free monthly statements.
A basic bank account provides eligible customers with an account to receive payments and access free banking transactions. The features of a basic bank account are:
- No account keeping fees.
- Free account statements.
- No minimum deposit amounts.
- Ability to set up and cancel direct debits.
- No overdrawn fees.
- Ability to access a debit card at no extra cost.
- Free and unlimited transactions .
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) helps consumers and small business to make and resolve complaints about financial institutions such as banks, insurance agencies, financial planners, mortgage brokers or superannuation funds.
AFCA is a free and independent dispute resolution service that handles complaints about:
- Credit, finance and loans
- Insurance
- Banking deposits and payments
- Investments
- Financial advice
- Superannuation
For further information about their complaint process and to make a complaint online go to AFCA's website or call the AFCA Helpline on the number below.
Bankruptcy is a legal process where you're declared unable to pay your debts. It can release you from most debts, provide relief and allow you to make a fresh start.
You can choose to enter into bankruptcy. Bankruptcy normally lasts for 3 years and 1 day. To apply for Bankruptcy, you need to complete and submit a Bankruptcy Form to the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA). This can be done through AFSA or you can contact them on 1300 364 785 and ask for it to be posted to you.
AFSA manages the application of bankruptcy and the personal property securities register in Australia. They offer information and links to advice on:
- What to do if you can't pay your debts.
- The process and consequences of bankruptcy and debt agreements.
- Checking security interests registered against a second hand vehicle, eg: whether it is reported stolen, written off, or at risk of repossession.
- Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) which may help to establish ownership in a dispute or solvency scenario.
- What to do if owed money.
If you are thinking about going bankrupt, you can speak to a financial counsellor to discuss your options for dealing with your debt and getting back on track.
To speak to a financial counsellor please call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.
Government financial support.
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Centrelink provides a range of payments and services to cater to the needs of seniors, job seekers, students and trainees, families, carers, parents, people with disabilities, First Nations People, and individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Eligibility criteria vary depending on the specific payment or service you are seeking.
To explore the comprehensive list of Centrelink payments and services, and to obtain further information, please visit the website.
Discover the support and assistance available through Centrelink to help meet your individual and family needs.
Centrepay is a free and voluntary service to pay bills and expenses as regular payments from your Centrelink payment. It is available to anyone who receives a regular Centrelink payment and can be used to pay for many expenses for example: rent, electricity, gas, and mobile phone.
For more information on what Centrepay is, how to use it and what you can use it for, click here.
You have the right to have errors on your credit report corrected for free.
Be wary of companies offering to repair or clean your credit report. If there is an error on the credit report, you can have this fixed for free. Information that is correct, even if you don’t like it, can't be removed.
For further information on credit repair and fixing your credit report go to the Moneysmart website or the National Debt Helpline website.
For information on credit scores and credit reports go here.
If you are experiencing financial hardship, and wish to have a free, confidential and independent conversation and access to a free financial counselling service that will consider all your options for dealing with your debt and getting back on track call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 or click on the number below.