Consumer Credit Legal Service (WA) Inc. is a statewide service providing free legal advice and/or representation in the areas of banking, finance, credit; and consumer goods and services. The organisation provides free assistance through the telephone advice line (08 9221 7066), casework and community legal education.
July at CCLSWA
Our Principal Solicitor Faith Cheok spoke with James Wray of Heritage FM 107.3 regarding the funding cut to financial counsellors.
Our paralegal Isabelle conducted a training session on presentation skills for our other paralegals.
CCLSWA paralegals delivered engaging financial literacy sessions to Willetton SHS and Mandurah Baptist College.
One probable result from the State government’s cut to Perth financial counselling services will be people’s dependence on payday loans. Vulnerable West Australians who have no financial counsellor to turn to will see payday loans as a quick, desperate solution.
The government estimates that the cut will save around $1.5M a year. But CCLSWA believes the cut will cause damage in excess of $1.5M: mental problems, family breakdown, neglected kids, homelessness, violence…
There were more than 19, 000 calls to the Financial Counselling Helpline last year: an increase of 60%. A financial counsellor sees 1.3 NEW clients per day. This shows that financial counsellors play a vital role.
Payday lenders will seem the solution to vulnerable West Australians who are barely scraping by. Exhorbitant fees will cause a vicious cycle of hardship.
Also, poor vulnerable people are easy target for unscrupulous for-profit credit repair companies that claim to clean up people’s poor credit ratings. These companies charge thousands of $$$ for work that consumer advocates and financial counselors achieve without cost.
CCLSWA urges the State government to reverse the cuts to this indispensable service.
Welcome Georgina Molloy
CCLSWA welcomes solicitor Georgina Molloy to our team. Georgina joins us from Melbourne where she was an associate at Ashurst. During her six years at Ashurst, Georgina worked in the Ashurst Singapore office for two years, undertook a seven-month full-time secondment at the Victorian community legal centre Youthlaw, and completed corporate secondments at AGL Energy, BHP Billiton and ANZ. Georgina graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2008 with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB Hons)/ Bachelor of Arts (French and History). We are very excited to have Georgina on board!
CCLSWA believes in prevention. Financial literacy is key to prevent poor financial decisions and out of control debt.
CCLSWA is committed to financial literacy education initiatives and community legal education. We reach different target groups: high school students, youth, new Australians, community advocates and groups with specific vulnerabilites such as migrants with low literacy, prisoners and women.
