Ecstra Foundation has announced the appointment of James Kirby, one of Australia’s most accomplished financial journalists, to its board, effective as at 11 December 2024.

With a career spanning decades of expertise in business, economics, and investment journalism, Mr Kirby is currently the Wealth Editor at The Australian and host of the popular twice-weekly ‘Money Puzzle’ podcast. He is a former managing editor and co-founder of Business Spectator and Eureka Report and has previously worked at the Australian Financial Review and the South China Morning Post.

Ecstra's 2023 Impact report celebrates our partnerships, progress and outcomes to date, contributing to the financial capability and wellbeing of Australians across all life stages.

Over four years, Ecstra has worked with 134 partners across Australia, committing to 184 grants and $33 million in funding to support a range of financial education, consumer care and community initiatives. This includes measuring and sharing outcomes. 

Read the report here.

New research commissioned by Ecstra Foundation shows that many countries, including Australia, continue to grapple with how to improve financial literacy in the face of economic and social headwinds. The findings suggest that Australia could learn a lot from the approaches of other countries.

The report, International Approaches to Progressing Financial Capability, by Social Ventures Australia (SVA), looks at international trends in financial literacy and capability, and identifies key ideas and approaches that may be relevant to the Australian context.

Our Talk Money 2023 Impact Report shares key data on program reach, evaluation outcomes and participant feedback. The results all show Talk Money is making a positive impact, helping teach students money lessons for life.

 Thank you to our community of schools, teachers and team for helping Talk Money grow to be Australia's largest, face-to-face, school-based financial education program.  

There's lots of exciting news to share from Ecstra and our partners this November.

Our Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation workshops featured on ABC's 7.30 Report with students from Bankstown Girls High School! Watch these inspiring Year 10 students discuss the importance of learning about money at school and home as they attend a Talk Money workshop. 

The Women's Economic Security Project was launched to address the barriers to employment, financial participation, and economic security experienced by many women and their families in Australia. The project aims to empower women by providing them with the necessary support, skills and opportunities to help them take control of their financial futures. 

Ecstra’s latest newsletter: In this update we warmly welcome the appointment of Delia Rickard to the Ecstra Foundation Board. Delia's extensive consumer policy expertise, leadership in financial capability and consumer protections will be greatly valued by Ecstra and our community. 

Ecstra’s latest newsletter: This month we are excited to share the overwhelmingly positive response to our new program, Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation plus share updates on initiatives from our funding partners.