Social Impact Evaluation of Financial Counselling in Tenancy Organisations

In April 2021, one in every five Australians were experiencing financial distress, and were struggling to afford essential goods and services. Rental stress – where people spend over 30% of their gross income on rent – was a significant contributing factor. In response to this need, the Financial Counselling Foundation initiated a program to provide vulnerable private renters with better access to financial counselling. The Foundation provided $1.17 million in grant funding over three years to embed financial counsellors within three tenancy organisations, with the aim of mitigating the risk of homelessness for those in financial distress.  

The Financial Counselling Foundation engaged ARTD to evaluate the effectiveness of embedding financial counsellors within Tenants Victoria, Tenants Queensland, and VERTO (NSW). The social impact evaluation explored whether the presence of financial counsellors within these organisations was effective both for the organisations themselves and their clients. Specifically, it aimed to examine the implications of this integration within a legal setting, including understanding enablers and barriers that impacted service delivery and the flow on impacts to clients. 

ARTD Consultants were commissioned to conduct this evaluation 18 months after the financial counsellors began their roles, allowing sufficient time for integration into the host organisations. The evaluation was designed to cover six key evaluation questions ranging from improvements in clients’ financial understanding to the impacts on host organisations and the refinement of financial counselling services. We took a mixed-methods approach that included literature reviews, surveys, interviews with clients and financial counsellors, and internal ethical reviews. This robust methodology enabled a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of embedding financial counsellors, and challenges.  

The evaluation found that providing financial counselling services within tenancy organisations resulted in positive outcomes. For tenancy staff it led to a greater awareness of financial counselling that streamlined and strengthened referrals for clients. For most clients, this resulted in a greater awareness and access to financial counselling and improved financial situation, that in turn, appears to have improved their wellbeing. 

The evaluation also highlighted the complexity of integrating an individual who provides financial services in a legal setting. The evaluation as a result provided insights on how risks could be better mitigated and opportunities further leveraged when integrating a financial counsellor into a legal setting. It also offered valuable insights for future program enhancements, which the Foundation has incorporated into their Expression of Interest for similar grants. As a result, the Foundation adopted all our recommendations and used these findings to not only continue the program but also expand it across Australia.