Lunch and Learn: Financial Counselling Victoria discuss financial abuse and older people

Moderator: Dr Suzy Goldsmith, Lead of Special Projects at Financial Counselling Victoria

Working through examples, we will illustrate financial counsellors’ work in awareness raising, support and advocacy for older people experiencing, or at risk of, financial elder abuse.

This session will cover:

• The financial counselling profession – legal status, technical knowledge and person-centred approach 
• The unique ways in which financial counsellors can identify and respond to financial elder abuse 
• How co-working between other service providers and financial counsellors can create better outcomes for older people. 

Panel members for this session are: 

Mike Kirkness – Latrobe Community Health Service 

A Senior Financial Counsellor with 16 years’ experience, Mike’s focus for the past 10 years has been on issues facing older people, especially First Nations people in remote areas.

Sandra Blake 

Sandra works as a Small Business Financial Counsellor on the Small Business Debt Helpline. Her other financial counselling roles have been as a generalist FC, Rural FC, Older Persons FC at Royal Melbourne Hospital and Student financial counsellor at Albury Wodonga campus of La Trobe University.