Program | DAY 1, WEDNESDAY, MAY 15
TBA| Please note that the program is evolving. There may be some changes.
9.00 am
Welcome to Country
The Whadjuk Nyoongar people are the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters where Perth city is situated today. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
The Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation will deliver the Welcome to Country at the opening of the FCA conference.
9.15 am
Welcome to conference
We’re delighted to welcome Daniel Ziffer as our MC for the FCA conference. Daniel is a journalist at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the author of A Wunch of Bankers: A Year in the Hayne Royal Commission.
Daniel and Anne Crouch (FCA’s Chair) will welcome you to the conference.
9.25 am
Minister’s address
The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP, the Federal Minister for Social Services, will give a short video address. The Department of Social Services funds financial counselling and financial capability workers. We are grateful for her commitment to, and support for, our sector.
9.35 am
Fair by Design?
Martin Coppack is the director of UK-based Fair by Design, a campaign group that aims to end the “poverty premium”, the fact that the poor more for essential services. Martin explains why the poverty premium exists and what they are doing to address it in the UK. We return to this important topic in the final session later in the day to discuss the implications for Australia.
10.10 am
Why words matter: strength-based financial counselling
It can be easy to fall into the trap of using deficit-based language and approaches: the client is simply a collection of problems to be solved. In this session, veteran financial counsellor and consumer advocate Sue Fraser explains how using a strengths-based approach which harnesses the distinct capabilities and resources of our clients can produce more positive outcomes and experiences for client and counsellor alike.
10.40 am
FCA update
Domenique Meyrick and Peter Gartlan, FCA’s new CEOs reflect on the year that was and where we’re heading in the year to come.
11.00 am
Morning tea
11.30 am
Meet the Independent Body
The industry funding model is a huge leap for financial counselling which will see an extra 9000 people able to access face-to-face counselling and enable the NDH to handle an extra 17,000 calls. The money, around $11 million a year for three years, will be administered and distributed by an independent body. So, what is the independent body, how has it come into being and how might it work? FCA’s Fiona Guthrie and Jenny Peachey explains all.
11.00 am
Morning tea
11.30 am
Meet the Independent Body
The industry funding model is a huge leap forward for financial counselling. With funding of around $11 million per annum over three years, an additional 30,000 people are expected to get access to financial counselling. The funding will be administered and distributed by a new independent body, the Financial Counselling Industry Fund.
We'll hear first from Peter Kell, the independent chair (by video) and then from board director Greg Tanzer about how the FCIF will operate.
12.10 pm
The power of trust
The 2022 Western Australian Young Person of the year Zahra Al Hilaly will draw on her own experience to explore the power of trust in financial services. How can sensitivity and the capacity for nuance be embedded into our interactions? How might we 'humanise' finance?
12.35 pm
The secret life of the humble complaint
Who should you complain to, under what circumstances and why? Join us for a creative exploration of the roles played by IDR, EDR and regulators in helping your clients as well as fixing the system. Get ready for another one of our theatrically inspired information sessions.
1.00 pm
Lunch
2.00 pm
Concurrents
3.30 pm
Afternoon tea
4.00 pm
Australia's housing crisis and what can be done about it
One of Australia’s most respected financial journalists and commentators, Alan Kohler will be zooming in live to chat about our housing crisis.
Alan hosts the nightly finance report on ABC TV news and has been writing and editing financial stories for decades. He’s been a columnist for Chanticleer in the Australian Financial Review and editor of the AFR, and columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He served as editor of The Age, business editor of the 7.30 Report and host of Inside Business on ABC TV.
He's also founded a number of publications and more recently wrote a Quarterly Essay called The Great Divide – Australia’s housing mess and how to fix it.
4.30 pm
Australia fair? The poverty premium in an Australian context
Anglicare Australia CEO Kasy Chambers joins our keynote speaker Martin Coppack to explore the poverty premium: when people on low incomes pay higher prices than others in the community. Examples include not being able to buy groceries in bulk, the higher cost of insurance because monthly premiums are higher than annual, and the higher costs of running an inefficient car. From energy bills, to public transport, from credit to insurance, the poor pay more. This session is facilitated by Melanie Hopkinson from FCAWA.
