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2017 has been a very special year for ICAN. This year, we celebrated 10 years of incorporation and reflected upon our growth as a financial counselling, training and consumer advocacy organisation dedicated to Empowering Indigenous Consumers. In this edition, we look back on 2017…

In March, ICAN joined the Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP) program led by Good Shepherd Microfinance on behalf of the Australian Government, in partnership with EY and the Centre for Social Impact. As part of this program, ICAN along with 29 other organisations across business, government, academia & the community sector have come together to identify and take practical actions to promote financial inclusion and resilience in Australia. We launched our Statement of Commitment in June and are currently undertaking the development of our Foundation FIAP.

In April, we worked with Financial Counselling Australia’s (FCA) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Workers Forum Steering Committee to co-produce their 10-year Anniversary video! ATSI Forum Steering Committee members spent a week at the ICAN office, working on script development and filming. The 10-year Anniversary video premiered at the FCA Conference held on the Gold Coast in mid-May.

In April, we saw a final win for the Yarrabah community, when Cairns-based lender, Channic Pty Ltd (Channic), broker Cash Brokers Pty Ltd (Cash Brokers) was fined a total of $776,000 by the Federal Court for breaching consumer credit laws. The Court also ordered the payment of costs of $420,000. Channic and Cash Brokers both operated from Supercheap, a used car dealership in Cairns which was also owned by Mr Hulbert. ASIC brought civil penalty proceedings after the Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network (ICAN) reported that Channic and Cash Brokers were dealing unjustly with vulnerable Indigenous consumers from the remote community of Yarrabah. It is a long-standing matter that ICAN has been involved with since we first took complaints from the community in 2009 and brought the matter to ASIC. A big shout out to Nathan Boyle and the Indigenous Outreach Team for their longstanding commitment to Yarrabah residents on this matter and the win they’ve achieved with the community!

Throughout the year, the work undertaken by the North Queensland Indigenous Consumer Taskforce – a partnership between ICAN, ACCC, ASIC, the QLD Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and several community organisations – continued with four Do Not Knock-Informed Towns being established across Queensland. On May 9^th, the Yarrabah Aboriginal community launched their Do Not Knock campaign, unveiling their new roadside signage designed to warn door-to-door traders not to trade unlawfully. The Yarrabah launch and the Do Not Knock initiative was discussed in the recent Knock it off! report, released by the Consumer Action Law Centre, WEstjustice and Loddon Campapse Community Legal Centre on November 20^th this year. On November 14^th, the Palm Island community launched their Do Not Knock campaign. ICAN’s Chairperson Velma Gara, who was in attendance for the launch, said the signage and stickers are important because they provide protection for our mob, when they may have a hard time saying NO. “We sign on the dotted line, just to get them out the door and end up paying thousands over time for a product that is only worth a fraction,” said Ms Gara. “This is the main reason why door-to-door traders prey on Indigenous communities.” The Queensland Office of Fair Trading and the ACCC spearheaded campaign launches in the Hopevale and Woorabinda Aboriginal communities on September 21^st and November 30^th, respectively. A big shout out to: Brian Bauer, Executive Director and Len Curran, Regional Manager of the Queensland Office of Fair Trading, and Michael Dowers, Regional Director, ACCC for their continued commitment to increased consumer protection in remote communities!

Directly after the Do Not Knock-Informed launch in the Yarrabah community, ICAN took several complaints from residents about having been signed up to air conditioning installation contracts, prior to the launch. We brought the matter to the Office of Fair Trading, who issued a penalty of $10,800 to Oz Solar Needs Pty Ltd for failing to advise consumers of their cooling-off rights or provide the cancellation notice. Affected consumers were able to terminate the contracts if they chose to do so.

In May, the Good Money store opened its doors in Cairns. It’s noteworthy that it’s right across the street from the ICAN office! Since May, we have been providing financial counselling support to Good Money customers and have been promoting the service through our networks.

In June, we celebrated the launch of ICAN Learn, ICAN’s Registered Training Organisation and social enterprise, dedicated to the professional development and advancement of the national financial counselling, capability and resilience sectors. ICAN Learn is a culmination of many partners working together with ICAN: our longstanding partner the Commonwealth Bank, Social Ventures Australia, Deloitte, the University of Queensland’s MBA SEEP Program and Gilbert & Tobin Lawyers, who supported its development from the beginning!

In July, ICAN joined forces with the Tableland Community NILS program, under our Queensland Government Financial Inclusion Program funding. In this new partnership, we are building the organisational capacity for localised financial counselling service delivery in the Atherton Tablelands, an area historically serviced via outreach support from Cairns. We welcome Anne-Maree Molloy, longstanding NILS Provider in the Atherton region, to the ICAN team!

In September, Jon O’Mally, Operations Manager joined consumer groups Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Counselling Australia, Choice and Good Shepherd Microfinance in Canberra, to discuss the Small Amount Consumer Credit (SACC) Review with Senators and Members of Parliament, and advocate for the proposed recommendations for increased consumer protections for payday loan and consumer lease borrowers.

In October, we to rolled out our fourth Mentorship Program for Indigenous students nationally, and our new Multicultural Scholarship Program, for culturally and linguistically diverse students located in Melbourne. We further welcomed two new staff to the ICAN Team: Conrad Dwyer and Carmen Hegarty!

2017 was a big year for the Yarnin’ Money team! Over the year, the team delivered nine financial capability training sessions in: Cairns, the Atherton Tablelands, Mareeba (x 2), special tailored deliveries to Save the Children and ICAN’s Mentorship Program (Cairns) and Townsville. The team finished off the year by heading to Sydney to deliver a tailored session to Commonwealth Bank staff.

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Reflecting upon our past 10 years, our proudest achievement has been – and continues to be – our development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander financial counsellors. In partnership with the Commonwealth Bank, our first Indigenous Financial Counselling Mentorship Program graduated a small group of ICAN staff from Cairns, Thursday Island (in the Torres Strait) and the Yarrabah and Palm Island Aboriginal communities (located in North Queensland). To date, we have graduated 34 Indigenous people through their Diploma of Financial Counselling and look forward to graduating our current 24 students from across the country!

Thank you for following us on our journey through 2017 and being a part of our community over the last ten years. See you in the New Year!

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ICAN history

For our readers who may not be familiar with our history, ICAN has been in operation since 2000, originally named the Consumer Affairs Unit and housed within the Aboriginal Co-ordinating Council (ACC), the peak statutory body for the Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) Aboriginal communities in Queensland. After closure of the ACC on September 30th, 2004, the ACC elected council wished for the consumer affairs unit to continue, and our work continued under the Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council. By 2007, our then Steering Committee, comprised of members from: the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Western Australia Department of Consumer Protection and the Queensland Office of Fair Trading) suggested it was time we become an independent organisation. On October 1^st, 2007, ICAN became a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee.

We are proud to have had many insightful Board Members over the years who have been, and remain dedicated to ICAN’s vision of Empowering Indigenous Consumers. We thank our many Directors who have served on the ICAN Board since our humble beginnings: Heron Loban, Robynne Quiggin, Vincent Mundraby, Graeme Hooper, Mick Gooda, Janine Gertz, Bob Frazer and Velma Gara, our present Chairperson and long-serving Director. We’ve come a long way in our continued service to the community over the past 10 years and look forward to the next ten!

The third national Indigenous Financial Counselling Mentorship Program sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank commenced in Cairns on October the 16^th, 2017. ICAN Learn Program Coordinator, Majella Anderson highlighted that the fifteen scholarship winners were from Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. “It was great to see representatives from the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (ALRM) participating in the program again, showing their ongoing commitment to developing Indigenous financial counsellors in South Australia’s Port Augusta and Ceduna regions,” said Ms. Anderson.

Explaining what makes the third national mentorship program different, ICAN Learn Executive Officer, Bernadette Pasco said, “for one it’s being delivered by our own Registered Training Organisation, ICAN Learn, and two, we’ve now included the financial literacy skill set, which is a great Segway into linking the roles of financial counselling and capability.”

This sentiment was backed by ICAN’s new financial counsellor (associate) and mentorship program participant, Conrad Dwyer; “With my experience in the industry, I felt I was able to assist some of my colleagues in the course to gain a better understanding of what financial capability work involves, while also learning more myself around some of the cultural protocols and specific remote issues that I will need to be aware of when working in communities.”

The course delivery is modelled on a block training approach of five to six, one week blocks over an eighteen-month period, that are supported by weekly online sessions. “We are using the Electa live web based platform between visits. This has resulted in a few technological challenges, but overall enabled contact between group members and assisted people get ready for the Diploma part of the program and next block visit on November 27^th,” said Ms. Pasco.

“Students are also engaging in submission of work via our e-learning platform, reducing the need for paper based documents and providing a platform to learn self-directed aspects of written tasks, effectively reducing our carbon footprint,” said Ms. Pasco.

ICAN’s new Financial Counselling Support Officer and program participant, Carmen Hegarty said, “I found it very enjoyable to meet others from different parts of Australia and more importantly discuss how they service their communities, and the experience they have in handling financial cases. It is comforting to know that we are all working to address similar issues together and we can pool our knowledge and resources for improved client and service outcomes.”

ICAN Learn enhances the delivery of the qualification through real education and industry connections. “We will be utilising ICAN’s extensive consumer regulatory, ombudsman and community service networks to present and discuss cases that make the education experience real. At the last block, past graduate and Yarnin’ Money Co-ordinator, Eddie Buli took participants through the concept of the ground breaking financial capability program and its value in working with Indigenous groups,” said Ms. Pasco. “Yarnin’ Money is developing a momentum of its own, with interest from diverse stakeholders in other States/ Territories, a promising way to develop different ways to have money conversations and empower service providers.”

Seed Co-Director Louise Simbandumwe and ICAN CEO Aaron Davis

by Carmen Daniels & Aaron Davis

Chasing buffalo and financial empowerment in the Canadian prairies became the theme of our recent fact-finding hunt. In his photographic quest to ‘get the shot’, ICAN’s CEO Aaron ‘Bushman’ Davis was almost charged by a buffalo, on one of our many visits to Elk Island National Park (Alberta). In much safer environments, Aaron and I met with community economic development organisations to learn more about Canadian approaches to ‘financial empowerment’, the term used in Canada for how we in Australia, describe our work in financial capability.

Our visit to Calgary, Alberta and Winnipeg, Manitoba in mid-October was inspired by Professor Jerry Buckland’s visit to Australia back in November 2016, when he visited Cairns and Melbourne to encourage more interaction between Australian and Canadian work in financial inclusion. In October, Professor Buckland of Menno Simons College (University of Winnipeg), organised an exchange for ICAN and two community economic development organisations Momentum, located in Calgary, Alberta and SEED (Winnipeg), located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Our visits with Momentum and SEED highlighted how each organisation aligns their financial empowerment education programs with the broader mandate of community economic development. “Community Economic Development (CED) recognises the interconnectedness of our social, environmental, and economic well-being,” explained Courtney Mo, Momentum’s Manager of Public Policy. When I arrived at Momentum, the centre was a buzz of activity and I was impressed by its relaxed, drop-in nature. Participants were busy at computers developing resumes and a full class of trades training was underway. “Momentum uses a CED approach in its work with program participants, collaborations with community partners, and when working with government on policy development,” Courtney said.

Professor Buckland provided the background for how CED was established as a movement in Canada. “The CED focus in Canada is rooted in an initiative that gained momentum during Paul Martin’s short tenure as PM in the early 2000s,” he said. “Its roots can be found in regional efforts at development in poorer or more isolated/insulated parts of the country including the Atlantic Provinces, Quebec, and the Prairies,” he explained. “This explains the importance of credit unions, which are a reflection of these community-regional initiatives.”

We were impressed by each organisation’s approach to ‘Asset-building’ and how the sustainable livelihoods model is embedded into Momentum and SEED programs. “This model is based on the notion that in order for a person to build a sustainable livelihood and stay resilient, they need to build strength in five different asset areas,” Courtney explained. “Those areas are personal, physical, social, human and financial.” Louise Simbandumwe, CEO of SEED Winnipeg, expanded on the model. “The Sustainable Livelihoods framework was developed by the Department for International Development in the UK and was adapted for use in Canada by Eko Nomos.” Professor Buckland adds that the asset-building emphasis was also of interest to policymakers in Canada. “In the mid 2000s, Sherraden’s asset-building focus was embraced by government and many community economic development organisations.”

L to R: Brenda Purschke, Momentum Financial Literacy Co-ordinator, Carmen Daniels ICAN Research & Communications & Courtney Mo, Momentum Manager of Public Policy

We drew parallels between the sustainable livelihood framework utilised by SEED and Momentum, and our own Yarnin’ Money program here at home. Yarnin’ Money utilises a narrative approach to assist people to develop financial literacy skills through a culture-centred training model, which recognises existing cultural worldviews and knowledge as the foundation to build new skills. While we take a strengths-based approach to delivering financial capability training, there is much we can learn from the sustainable livelihoods framework, which centres upon a holistic approach to building both tangible and intangible assets.

We shared with SEED and Momentum how ICAN incorporates consumer advocacy work, as a key focus of our financial capability and financial counselling work. “ICAN’s work on consumer protection is impressive,” said Courtney. “Momentum was really pleased to learn of another organization looking holistically at an individual’s and whole community’s economic resilience,” she said. “What was exciting about ICAN was learning about the major efforts and investments and looking at root causes, the systemic barriers, to economic resilience,” Courtney explained.

We too, were impressed to learn about Momentum’s work in consumer protection, and heard how they are actively working with the Provincial Government towards new consumer protection regulation. We heard about the recent payday lending reform in the province of Alberta, including important changes made towards lowering the allowable cost of borrowing, enabling instalment payments and restricting rules on marketing. “It’s a positive step toward reducing predatory lending in Alberta”, Courtney said. “However, payday lending is only one form of high-cost credit. We must ensure that there are sweeping changes and improvements to high-cost lending in general – for any of the products on the market today and ones that may be invented in the future,” she noted.

Carmen Daniels presentation to the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba.

We concluded our tour by speaking to staff and students of Menno Simons College (University of Winnipeg), International Development program, and the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba. “Audiences were very interested in your comments and it was clear that people were comparing the situation in Australia and Canada,” Professor Buckland noted. “It was so useful to hear about the situation for Indigenous peoples in Australia, and realize the similarities and differences for Indigenous peoples in Canada.”

We thank Professor Jerry Buckland & the Menno Simons team including Professor Kirit Patal; Courtney Mo and the Momentum team: Brenda Purschke, Anna Cameron & Carlen Scheyk; Louise Simbandumwe and the SEED Winnipeg team; Associate Professor Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair (University of Manitoba), Professor Peter Kulchyski (University of Manitoba) & Associate Professor Cary Miller – Head of Native Studies (University of Manitoba), for their hospitality and kindness. Hiy Hiy!

Oh…and in the end… Aaron did get the shot!

Bufallo Fall – Double Exposure by Aaron Davis

There’s nothing like the smell of sizzling sausages, fried onions, and bacon and eggs on a barbie – which is exactly what took place at Yarrabah on the 26^th September, when ICAN, Good Money Cairns, QLD Office of Fair Trading, and the Energy Water Ombudsman QLD collectively hosted a Community BBQ for Yarrabah residents. The aim of the BBQ was to continue to raise community awareness of Yarrabah as a “Do Not Knock” town by providing free stickers to residents, as well as promoting NILS and the Good Money store in Cairns, yarning about electricity issues, and supporting Yarrabah with ongoing free financial counselling and consumer advocacy services.

Simone O’Mally, Store Manager of Good Money Cairns, stated “Good Money Cairns really enjoyed the community BBQ day at Yarrabah, it was a great opportunity for us to network with other community organisations and speak to some potential clients about our No Interest Loans (NILS).”

The feedback from community members was very positive, not only enjoying the free sausage sizzle, but “putting a face to a name is very important,” as one resident remarked.

ICAN Financial Counsellor Leeanne Griffith stated, “it was a great day with other significant stakeholders to re-connect with the Yarrie community and to discuss current issues”.

Overall 120 people enjoyed the BBQ and it was agreed that more Community BBQs are on the agenda in 2018!

ICAN held an intensive professional development workshop for Save the Children’s, Gulf of Carpentaria Financial Counselling and Capability team earlier this month. The team from the ‘Gulf’ travelled to Cairns from Mornington Island, Doomadgee and Normanton to attend the event. The three-day training program included seminars and networking opportunities with the State Penalties Enforcements Registry (SPER), Queensland Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland (EWOQ), Good Shepherd Microfinance’s, Good Money Store and ICAN’s very own Yarnin’ Money team.

Reflecting on the event, Save the Children’s North Queensland Regional Manager, Matthew Berne said, “The opportunity to network with government agencies and community services that can assist us develop the scope of our service delivery and client support is invaluable. We’ve formed a great partnership with ICAN, that has already resulted in one of our team becoming a qualified financial counsellor and another enrolling in the Indigenous financial counselling mentorship program this year. We’ll continue to explore opportunities to work together to develop of our financial counselling and capability workforce and service delivery.”

ICAN Acting CEO, Jon O’Mally said, “ICAN and our registered training arm ICAN Learn is devoted to developing the capacity of the national financial counselling and capability sectors. ICAN’s long term vision for Indigenous Australia is to develop a network of Indigenous financial counsellors and capability workers that have established access points to consumer regulatory bodies, internal and external dispute resolution schemes and complimentary services. The recent professional development workshop is another step in achieving this vision.”

ICAN’s Yarnin’ Money Coordinator, Eddie Buli said, “Starting the three-day professional development program with the Yarnin’ Money ‘Service Provider’ course provided an opportunity to build a rapport with the group through the sharing of stories. It was really interesting to learn about the Gulf communities and the financial issues that they face. Our hope is that the storytelling techniques learned in the course can help service provider participants delve deeper into the underlying causes of their client’s financial issues and provide appropriate referral points for support.”

ICAN would like to thank the Commonwealth Department of Social Services and Agency partners, SPER, OFT, EWOQ and Good Money Store for supporting this important initiative. Please contact Eddie Buli on 1300 369 878 or email edward.buli@icanlearn.edu.au if you’d like to find out more about the suite of Yarnin’ Money financial literacy programs or visit our website at http://icanlearn.edu.au .

Tableland Community NILS and ICAN have joined forces to tackle financial exclusion throughout the Tablelands Region by combining organisational expertise and programs. On receiving funding from the Queensland Government’s Financial Inclusion Program, ICAN has sought collective impact opportunities for place based service delivery in the Tablelands, Cape York and Torres Strait explained ICAN CEO, Aaron Davis. “As a member of the NQ NILS Network, ICAN knew about the great work of Anne-Maree Molloy and the Tablelands Community NILS and wanted to find ways to work together.”

Since the Tableland Community NILS’s first NILS loan in February 2010, they have issued 1,542 loans for essential household items and car maintenance in their region, totalling over $1.3 M. In the 2016/2017 financial year, Anne-Maree processed over 350 loans, averaging just under 7 loans per week. “Along with offering NILS to both Men and Women, we refer clients to agencies that can help further with complex financial matters,” said Ms Molloy.

Over the coming year Ms Molloy will take the next step in her financial inclusion journey through participating in ICAN’s financial counselling mentorship program model, that combines a formal diploma level qualification with professional financial counselling support and supervision. “I look forward to completing my Diploma of Financial Counselling with ICAN Learn, strengthening relationships with partner agencies and offering assistance to the people of the Tablelands needing extra support with their financial problems”, said Ms Molloy.

Historically financial counselling on the Tablelands has been delivered through an outreach model by agencies based in Cairns, Mr Davis explained. “By linking our resources we’re able to work towards having a suite of financial inclusion services based in the Tablelands, which will be a great win for both organisations and more importantly to our shared clients in the region.”

Being permanently based in Atherton, Anne-Maree says she will be readily available to members of the Tableland’s communities to help with complex financial issues. “Clients will no longer have to travel to Cairns or wait for extended periods of time before being able to see a visiting Financial Counsellor,” said Ms Molloy. “We will also be promoting ICAN’s financial literacy program, Yarnin’ Money in the region and working with the NQ NILS network to develop a new centralised loans processing model.”

The financial inclusion partnership benefits for the Tablelands will include much needed consumer advocacy support for the region. “We envisage that Anne-Maree through the Tableland Community NILS will become a member of the NQ Indigenous Consumer Taskforce with regulatory partners the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Queensland Office of Fair Trading, increasing the group’s ability to identify and address systemic consumer issues in the region,” said Mr Davis.

If you’d like to find out more about the new services, please contact Anne-Maree on 0428 915 102 or email: twcnils@gmail.com or come visit at Office 11, Jack St Business Centre, Railway Lane, Atherton (next to St Vincent’s De Paul). Trading hours are 8.30 a.m. – 4.30 p.m., Tuesday to Friday.

(Re-posted from Good Shepherd Microfinance – Shifting the Dial on Financial Inclusion and Resilience for Indigenous Consumers July 7, 2017)

As the 60th anniversary of the NAIDOC week celebrations rolls in, it is timely to reflect that despite isolated pockets of success, much remains to be done to realise Indigenous inclusion in Australia. Amongst the many ongoing challenges is one that policymakers focused on financial services provision have been grappling with for the last few decades – Indigenous people are over-represented amongst the most financially excluded groups in Australia, lacking access to safe, affordable and appropriate financial products and services from mainstream providers[1].

Financial exclusion is associated with low income, and exacerbates other forms of disadvantage including socio-economic marginalisation, poorer health, education and employment outcomes, and lower financial resilience i.e. the ability to recover from financial shocks[2]. Although many Australians experience such disadvantage, Indigenous people are almost two and a half times more likely than others to be financially excluded1, irrespective of whether they live in urban, regional or remote areas[3].

Indigenous exclusion has persisted in Australia and overseas, presenting a ‘wicked’ problem which begs a holistic, ‘joined-up’ response across the multiple sectors which intersect with their daily lives, straddling government, businesses and the wider community. Yet such solutions can only succeed if they are community-led, with Indigenous priorities placed at the heart of user-centred design[4].

From Rhetoric to Reality?

One example of such an Indigenous-centred approach is an established partnership between the Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network Ltd (ICAN) and the Commonwealth Bank to improve the financial wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. Both organisations are amongst a pioneering group of 30 ‘Trailblazer’ organisations, who have joined forces to realise financial inclusion and resilience for the more than 3 million Australians who are fully or severely financially excluded, via the innovative national cross-sectoral collaboration, the Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP) program.

ICAN, with over ten years of dedicated service and commitment to empowering Indigenous communities through consumer education, financial counselling and advocacy under their belt, is one of the newest members to join the fast growing FIAP community, whilst the Commonwealth Bank was amongst the first 12 organisations to launch Foundation FIAPs in November 2016. Together, these organisations committed to take more than 240 specific actions, designed to realise financial inclusion and resilience for their clients, staff, suppliers and community partners[5].

Commonwealth Bank’s Foundation FIAP actions included providing fee-free accounts, accessible branches, cultural awareness training for staff, as well as specialised assistance for people in financial hardship, particularly the complex consumer issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people living in regional and remote Australia, through an ongoing partnership with ICAN. This is in addition to the tailored support Commonwealth Bank provides to remote Indigenous communities through its Indigenous Customer Assistance Line.

ICAN CEO Aaron Davis, describing his vision for a FIAP, says “We want to work with government and industry to develop ethical solutions to current products and services that we see contributing to Indigenous financial detriment. If we nominated our ‘top 5’ today, these would include: payday lending, consumer leases, funeral insurance, superannuation and high-energy costs.

“Matters such as payday lending, consumer leases and funeral insurances require the development and promotion of ethical alternatives that meet the needs of Indigenous peoples and address market failures. In some cases like superannuation and energy costs, we also need an education and advocacy response to community issues.”

Joining Forces to address Indigenous Disadvantage

“To create positive change, financial and consumer capability needs to be built with the Indigenous community, respecting existing knowledge and Indigenous cultures in delivery” says Mr. Davis. “We know that the best outcomes in Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander communities are achieved when people are empowered to take control of their own issues. Indigenous financial counsellors have a greater understanding of language and context making it easier for them to identify the underlying issues of a client’s financial position. When you build the skills of an Indigenous community member to become a financial counsellor, the knowledge remains in the community.”

Over the next three months, ICAN in ongoing partnership with fellow FIAP trailblazer Commonwealth Bank will be rolling out concurrent scholarship programmes for Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse recipients to gain a Diploma of Financial Counselling along with mentoring from senior financial councillors. Both the scholarships and mentorships will be delivered in Cairns and Melbourne by ICAN’s new subsidiary social enterprise registered training organisation (RTO), ICAN Learn.

“The goal is to ensure that all Australians can receive both culturally competent and high quality financial counselling services,” says Mr Davis.

ICAN’s “Indigenous Financial Counselling Mentorship Program” is a training program for Indigenous peoples seeking to become qualified and accredited financial counsellors. It brings together partnerships across community, industry and government to achieve greater outcomes in the financial counselling and capability sector. The program supports and adds value to government-funded financial counselling and capability positions across Australia, by professionalising a culturally competent workforce. With CBA’s continued investment, ICAN Learn will provide scholarships for up to 30 new student placements in 2017-18.

CBA and ICAN are also looking at further expanding the scope of the financial literacy program, Yarnin’ Money, a financial capability training and outreach programme aimed at providing financial literacy tools and skills for local service providers and community residents in regional and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

Cross-sectoral partnerships such as these leverage the strength of both organisations, allowing them to co-design solutions that work for both Indigenous consumers and their service providers.

For its part, the partnership with ICAN continues to yield benefits not only for the Indigenous Australians it is seeking to support, but also for the Bank itself.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to make a real difference to the financial wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. Over the years we have gained a lot from the experience of working with ICAN, who consistently deliver important financial counselling services to Indigenous communities right across the country,” said Sharona Torrens, CBA’s Executive Manager of Indigenous Affairs.

[1] ‘Collective Actions Leading Change’ Good Shepherd Microfinance 2016 http://goodshepherdmicrofinance.org.au/assets/files/2016/11/FIAP-Launch-Report-v5-Online-161117.pdf

[1] ‘Measuring Financial Exclusion In Australia’ 2012, Centre for Social Impact for NAB https://www.nab.com.au/content/dam/nabrwd/About-Us/corporate-responsibilty/docs/nab_fin_exclusion_report_final_2012_web-2_1.pdf

[2] ‘Financial Resilience in Australia 2015’ Centre for Social Impact for NAB http://www.csi.edu.au/media/uploads/Financial_Resilience_in_Australia_-_Full_Report.pdf

[3] ‘A Report on Financial Exclusion in Australia’ ANZ-Chant Link 2004 http://www.ncrc.org/global/australAsia/Australia/AustraliaArticle4.pdf

[4] ‘Explaining Social exclusion: Towards Social Inclusion for Indigenous Australians’, 2010 Hunter, B. & Jordan, K. in Australian Journal of Social Issues, 45(2): 243–65

[5] ‘Collective Actions Leading Change’ Good Shepherd Microfinance 2016 http://goodshepherdmicrofinance.org.au/assets/files/2016/11/FIAP-Launch-Report-v5-Online-161117.pdf

In 2017, ICAN is embarking on its ‘Reconnection Tour’, to assist pensioners across Cape York and the Torres Strait, to access electricity rebates offered to them under government concession arrangements. Many remote communities in Far North Queensland operate on prepaid power card meters, where payment for electricity is made in advance, while consumers living in urban centres receive quarterly bills.

ICAN’s Reconnection Tour will see ICAN’s highly skilled outreach team connecting with eligible pension card holders to the $320 a year Queensland Government rebate. It will reconnect with key community service providers and train them in the energy rebate process, to ensure eligible persons are able to access the concessions.

“We’re talking about a potential $1.48 million annual savings for these communities if we can get the current 10% take up figure, up to our 100% goal in the next few years”, said Aaron Davis, CEO.

In 2013, ICAN was commissioned by Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS) to conduct community consultations in Palm Island, Mapoon and Wujal Wujal Aboriginal communities on Electricity prepayment meters and customer experience in remote Queensland. The customer interviews were designed to get an insight into the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with electricity pre-payment meters*. ICAN’s research team interviewed 35 participants and provided the quantitative and qualitative data to QCOSS for the final research report.

ICAN and QCOSS used the consultation findings to inform the Queensland Department of Energy and Water Supply on areas of success and inequality in the system. The consultation highlighted that above 90% community residents interviewed were happy with the system as it helped them manage their finances. The inequality found in the system was that people weren’t able to access concessional rebates and have a choice in Tariff settings like the rest of Queensland. The report noted;

“A key issue in improving the affordability of electricity for households in remote pre-payment meter communities is the lack of awareness and uptake of concessions. The Queensland Government provides a number of energy concessions to assist eligible low income and vulnerable consumers with their energy costs. While there are no specific eligibility criteria which exclude pre-payment meter customers from accessing these concessions, uptake is negligible. Further, the stakeholder interviews revealed much confusion across government and Ergon representatives about whether pre-payment meter customers are actually eligible for government funded concessions*.”

In 2014, the Queensland Government made changes to who can access the rebates, extending access to prepaid power card customers. ICAN undertook the first trial for accessing rebates for Palm Island customers. In August 2015, Shelter Housing Action Cairns (SHAC)** undertook community engagement in the Wujal Wujal and Hopevale communities to support prepaid power card customers to access the rebate, with a broader scope of understanding the energy needs of remote Indigenous communities, holding conversations about energy usage and understanding the impact of rising energy costs. In partnership with Ergon Energy, SHAC was able to hold community meetings and a door-to-door campaign to actively support people to sign up to the concessions. A community development process allowed for feedback by participants in SHAC’s Remote NILS program and the wider community to be directed back to Ergon about how criteria for accessing the rebates needed to change. Similarly, ICAN’s work with Palm Island customers was also able to feed into this process.

“Feedback was also received from the [Ergon] Concessions Team who felt that having someone assist their customers through the registration process greatly improved the efficiency and outcome of the process” said Sharon Edwards, My Money Financial Inclusion Manager at SHAC.

The work undertaken by ICAN and SHAC since the inclusion of prepaid power card customers in the energy rebate has been a great start. From this work, we know that where support systems are put in place for communities, there is a greater take up of the concessions available.  A goal for ICAN over the next two years is to continue this work, in order to increase the take-up of electricity rebates in remote Indigenous communities throughout Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands. The current take-up of electricity rebates by eligible customers in communities that use the power card system is still hovering at just below 10% since their introduction in 2014.

“Almost three years have passed since the Queensland Government included power card customers in the rebate scheme and the QCOSS report was published. We know that electricity costs are having a dire impact on the family budget in these communities, exacerbated by the significantly higher costs of food, fuel and consumer goods. There is still a significant amount of work to be done and we’re up for the challenge”, said Mr. Davis.

The tour will reconnect people with their Superannuation, providing free superannuation searches, do-not-call registration and distribution of targeted consumer education resources. It will also provide the opportunity to re-establish referral points and promote ICAN’s financial counselling services and Yarnin’ Money financial literacy training program.

The ICAN Reconnection Tour is made possible through funding provided by the Queensland Government’s Financial Inclusion Program to provide financial counselling and literacy services to the Tablelands, Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands. ICAN will work with QCOSS, Ergon Energy, QLD Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, QLD Department of Energy & Water Supply and NQ Indigenous Consumer Taskforce partners to ensure the ‘Reconnection Tour’ is a success.

Please contact us at 1300 369 878 if you’d like to reconnect with ICAN in your community.

*Source: Queensland Council of Social Service 2016, ‘Electricity prepayment meters and customer experience in remote Queensland’, https://www.qcoss.org.au/sites/default/files/20140819_QCOSS%20Report%20on%20Remote%20PPM%20Customers%20Final.pdf.

**Information provided by Sharon Edwards, Shelter Housing Action Cairns.