Breaking down barriers to super for Indigenous Australians
01 October 2020
5
min read
To support a superannuation system that benefits the financial wellbeing of all Australians, QSuper contributed to an education program aimed at helping financial capability workers who work with regional and remote Indigenous and migrant communities.
A series of education webinars were delivered jointly with Financial Counselling Australia to financial capability officers who work with regional and remote Indigenous communities and migrant communities, including refugees and asylum seekers.
What is financial capability?
Financial capability services help people to build longer-term capability to budget and manage their money and to make informed choices about their money in the future.
A financial capability worker provides financial literacy education and may provide one-on-one budgeting support and non-accredited financial literacy community education workshops to eligible people.
Financial capability workers do not provide financial counselling, financial advice, or deal with complex financial or legal matters, but they may facilitate access to financial counsellors, legal and other services.1
Indigenous Australians and super
Indigenous Australians have 23% less in retirement savings than non-Indigenous Australians and continue to face significant barriers in accessing the superannuation system.2
Among the barriers are the requirements that people provide identification to engage with their super. Many Indigenous Australians from remote communities do not have access to documents, such as a driver’s license or passport.
According to financial capability workers who work with Indigenous communities, the challenge of meeting identification requirements remains a key obstacle to Indigenous members accessing information about their fund, or being able to process a claim.
Other challenges include:
- Structural hurdles among funds that do not allow Indigenous people to nominate people who are outside their immediate family, but within their kinship structure
- Lost superannuation
- Access to financial services in rural and remote areas
- Lack of internet access.
Super support for Indigenous Australians
Financial Counselling Australia, a not-for-profit organisation representing the financial counselling profession in Australia, conducted an education series (non-accredited) during August 2020 for financial capability workers.
QSuper delivered information on superannuation to upskill the officers so they could better support the communities they work in to enable financial empowerment and wellbeing of community members.
Lynda Edwards, Financial Capability Community of Practice Coordinator at Financial Counselling Australia, said FCA worked with QSuper to deliver information and capacity building to the organisation’s financial capability network.
“This opportunity gave many of our financial capability workers unaccredited training in how super works, how financial capability workers can assist and support clients and when to refer to financial counsellors,” Ms Edwards said.
“For many of our financial capability workers who live and work in regional and remote communities and with culturally and linguistically diverse communities, the webinar itself was extremely informative and easy to understand.”
Building better relationships
At QSuper, we are committed to increasing the financial wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Under our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) we aim to deliver practical actions to help build stronger relationships with, and enhance respect for our First Australians.
Our RAP focuses on improving financial literacy, promoting cultural awareness, and increasing access to superannuation services and its potential benefits.
1. https://www.dss.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/programmes-services/financial-wellbeing-and-capability-overview-of-changes/financial-capability
2. Media release, 17 September 2019, More work needed to improve Indigenous superannuation outcomes: report, Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, at www.aist.asn.au
The opinions expressed and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the QSuper Board. No responsibility is taken for the accuracy of any of the information supplied and you should seek advice for your circumstances.