What is this research about?

The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) has commissioned the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales to carry out an independent assessment of parts of  the Financial Management Program. The FMP aims to help people facing financial stress, by addressing immediate needs in times of crisis, and by increasing financial resilience through better use and management of money. The study is being led by Dr Tony Eardley, Senior Research Fellow at the SPRC.

The services in scope for this research are Emergency Relief, Commonwealth Financial Counselling, Money Management Services, the No Interest Loans Scheme, StepUP Loans, AddsUP savings plans, Saver Plus and Progress Loans.

What are the aims of the research?

The study is designed to help the Department make improvements in the FMP from July 2011. Some of the main research questions for the study are:

• Who receives the various services under the FMP and what are their circumstances? To what extent do they meet Program target groups?
• How do service providers target their assistance?
• What barriers exist to accessing services under the Program?
• To what extent is there unmet demand for assistance and for what specific services?
• How do service providers assess client needs (for different types and levels of service and along the continuum of financial stress)?
• What particular issues exist for service delivery in remote Aboriginal communities?
• What information is available on service outcomes? How do different services assess the results of their interventions? How effective are different elements of the Program? Is the balance between funding for different service elements correct?
• How does variation in State/Territory service environments impact on the delivery of FMP services?
• What are service users’  perspectives on and experiences of FMP services? What has helped most and how easy was it to access assistance?
• What are the perspectives and experiences of service providers and peak bodies on the operations of the Program? What resources, guidance, training or policy amendments are needed to make it more effective? What improvements are needed in the management of the FMP at Departmental level or in reporting requirements?
• What are the key elements of best practice that could improve service delivery across the sector as a whole?

What does the research involve?

The research involves the following elements:

• Consultations with stakeholders;
• Surveys of a national sample of service providers;
• Focus groups and in-depth interviews with a sample of service providers and service users in selected metropolitan and regional/remote areas across Australia;
• Analysis of FMP administrative data and comparison with population survey data about people facing financial stress; and
• A review of Australian and overseas literature on programs assisting people facing financial stress.

The research started in June 2010 and will be completed by mid-2011.

What is this website for?

This website will provide a link to the research for FMP service providers and service users.  Service providers and users on the ground are likely to be the people most well informed about how FMP services operate and to have important ideas for how the Program should be improved. We value your knowledge and opinions and want you to be able to have a say.

As the site develops it will include feedback and progress reports from the researchers  and forum or ‘blog’ pages which will allow you to offer comments on aspects of FMP services, and on the research itself. To post a comment you will need to register and choose a username and password.  These can be in a form that is not linked to your actual name.

This site is still under construction, so please come back regularly to look at new developments.

Please note our disclaimer.