A decision to cease federal funding to two key groups operating Australias national debt helpline could have put the entire service in jeopardy, consumer advocates say.
But questions to the social services minister, Paul Fletcher, appear to have prompted an intervention his second such intervention in recent days that has given advocates confidence the looming crisis will be prevented.
The national debt helpline last year took 170,000 calls from those in serious financial trouble, linking them with independent counsellors to help them out of crippling debt.
In NSW and Victoria the service is run by the Financial Rights Legal Centre and Consumer Action Law Centre respectively, with the majority of funding (roughly 70-75%) coming from s…
Read the full article at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/14/national-debt-helpline-threat-government-pulls-funding