Mitchell Community Health Service

The MCHS Financial Counsellor is coming to Flowerdale

Date: Tuesday 24 August 2010 at 11.00am
Venue: Flowerdale Community House, Recreation Reserve
For more details, please contact Kate Lewer via mobile 0438 056 461
or email katel@mitchellchs.org.au

Need a helping hand with your debts?

MCHS had been providing financial They can:

counselling services to the residents of the
Mitchell and Murrindindi shires for the past
20 years. It’s free and confidential.
A Financial Counsellor can see clients in the
hubs at Marysville, Flowerdale and Kinglake
as well as at our offices in Broadford,
Seymour and Wallan.
To make an appointment to see a Financial
Counsellor, contact the Service Access and
Care Coordination (SACC) team on 1300
773 352.
Who are Financial Counsellors?
Financial Counsellors in Victoria are highly
skilled paralegal professionals who provide
assistance, advocacy and information
to those who are experiencing financial
disadvantage on an extensive range of issues
relating to the inability to pay household
bills, loans, credit cards, mortgages, rent,
fines, taxation and child support.
They are not financial advisers or planners
who assist people seeking investment
advice.
They are paralegal professionals working with
individuals, families or groups of consumers
who are experiencing disadvantage and/or
dispute in regard to their financial situation.
What does a Financial Counsellor do?
Financial Counsellors can assist clients by
acting as the their advocate and assisting
them with any difficulties they might have
with creditors, debt recovery agencies,
insurers, utilities, telephone carriers, council
rates and Centrelink disputes or access to
Centrelink benefits.
• assist with debt recovery issues and
harassment by debt collectors and
explain the legal action being used by
creditors against clients.
• provide bankruptcy information and
assist with the process of petitioning for
Bankruptcy if that is a suitable option
once other options are explained and
considered.
• assist with Child Support issues and some
basic information about separation and
family law matters.
• provide referrals to various other
agencies or ombudsman schemes to
help the client deal with disputes.
Most creditors are used to dealing with
Financial Counsellors when clients are
faced with financial hardship.
Financial Counsellors can assist with having
loan and mortgage contracts varied
under the hardship provisions of our credit
legislation.
As well as assisting clients directly, they can
also assist the Bushfire Case Managers on
a secondary consult basis but if the matter
needs more direct support, the Financial
Counsellor can then work directly with the
client.
Financial Counsellors also work collaborately
with the Bush Fire Case Managers, so that
if they still have clients with unresolved
financial issues and need assistance as they
move to close client files, they can contact
a Financial Counsellor for support and
guidance with the clients needs.

Providers of health and social support services within the shires of

Murrindindi and Mitchell. Working actively with communities to improve health
and wellbeing outcomes and to prevent illness.