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Your options for financial advice or support

At Keystart, we support you through your home loan journey but we are can't offer financial advice. Read about financial coaching, counselling and advice.

We believe in setting you up for success, so we're here to support you through your home loan journey. While we can answer your home loan questions, we are not able to offer any financial advice. There are different levels of financial support available out there. This article explains the difference between financial coaching, counselling and advice.

We recommend you seek your own independent financial advice prior to making any decisions about your financial needs.

Financial coaching

Financial coaching is a one-on-one coaching service to help people set financial goals and learn ways to achieve them. Coaching may build your financial wellness and resilience. A financial coach aims to support and guide you as you develop your financial skills.

Keystart is pleased to offer eligible customers a unique financial coaching service provided by our partner the Financial Wellbeing Collective. This service is designed to support you if you have some financial concerns and want to build your money management skills.

Who might benefit from financial coaching

You might find financial coaching useful if you:

  • often feel uncomfortable meeting your financial commitments,
  • have sufficient income to cover essentials but often find yourself struggling to find funds when needed,
  • are unable to raise emergency funds of $2000 within a week,
  • would like to strengthen and develop your money management skills,
  • want to learn how to make good financial decisions,
  • need guidance to learn how to set and meet financial goals, or
  • wish to develop good financial habits.

Find out more

Financial counselling

Financial counselling is the provision of free, independent and confidential

  • information,
  • advice,
  • advocacy and
  • referral to other support services.

This service is available for any Australian individual or family experiencing financial difficulties.

As qualified professionals, financial counsellors have extensive knowledge on:

  • consumer credit law,
  • debt enforcement practices,
  • bankruptcy,
  • industry hardship policies and
  • government concession frameworks.

Financial counsellors can work with you if you're experiencing financial stress by developing strategies to manage your short and long term financial difficulties. They will also be able to refer you to other services if you need further support.

This service is offered by community organisations, community legal centres and some government agencies.

Who might benefit from a financial counsellor

Financial counsellors will listen to your concerns and help you with things like:

  • bills or fines you're struggling to pay,
  • being harassed by debt collectors,
  • gas, electricity or phone disconnection,
  • car accidents with no insurance, and
  • tax debts.

What financial counsellors do

Financial counsellors guide you through your options. They can:

  • suggest ways to improve your financial situation,
  • see if you're eligible for government concessions or support,
  • talk to your creditors about repayment arrangements,
  • help you apply for a hardship variation,
  • explain the risks of bankruptcy and debt agreements and talk through the alternatives, and
  • refer you to other services, such as a gambling helpline, family support or legal aid.

Get in touch with us too

Contact Keystart if you are experiencing financial difficulty. At Keystart, we know situations change and we take our customer’s concerns seriously. If you are experiencing difficulty meeting your monthly loan repayments, please get in touch with us as soon as you can. Once we review your individual circumstances you might have options that you are unaware of. Discussing your options early gives you more time and knowledge to make your decisions. We have a dedicated team here to help.

Financial difficulty

Useful links

Find out more about financial counselling:

MoneySmart

Financial Wellbeing Collective

National Debt Helpline


Financial advice

Financial advice is provided by a financial advisor, sometimes called a financial planner. A financial advisor is a person or authorised representative of an organisation licensed by ASIC to provide advice on

  • investing,
  • superannuation,
  • retirement planning,
  • estate planning,
  • risk management,
  • insurance and
  • taxation.

Anyone who gives financial advice must have an Australian financial services (AFS) licence. A good financial adviser works with you to understand your needs, set your short and long term financial goals, and create a plan to help you achieve them.

A financial advisor charges a fee for their service. You can ask for the fee structure and a copy of their Financial Services Guide before deciding to see an advisor. This Guide will help you compare different providers and their fees.

Useful links

MoneySmart has some very useful information on choosing a financial advisor.

MoneySmart