Financial wellbeing and older Australians

Ecstra Foundation announces funding to eight organisations across Australia working to support the financial wellbeing of older Australians.

With a total grant pool of $1,000,000 the Financial Wellbeing and Ageing Well Grants focus on pragmatic, practical assistance and resources that engage older consumers, to help them navigate financial decisions during this life stage and to build economic resilience.

A diverse range of projects include addressing elder economic abuse in multicultural communities, digital tools to help navigate aged care and health services complexities, financial coaching for older women seeking employment and targeted financial education resources through the mens’ shed network.

“Ecstra is backing brilliant organisations who work directly with, and on behalf of older consumers. Our grantees understand the challenges older Australians are facing, many of which are exacerbated by the pandemic and economic uncertainty. Older Australians have many financial decisions to make about work, retirement, care options and their future financial security,” says Caroline Stewart, CEO of Ecstra Foundation.

Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia is the national peak body for older Australians, and the Ecstra grant will support their Fase3 prototype project.

“We know that asking the right questions and receiving key information as people start their aged care journey results in qualitatively better experiences of aged care. Providing early access to supports can fundamentally improve the roadmap different people follow. COVID-19 has seen more older Australians and their families access new online processes. This support by Ecstra will enable COTA to work with external parties to develop a prototype to support tailored aged care journeys,” says Ian Yates, Chief Executive of COTA Australia.

Australian Multicultural Community Services (AMCS) will utilise their grant to address emerging issues of elder economic abuse, including training staff to understand and identify financial abuse, and client referrals to information and support services. They will also develop multilingual resources for seniors, and offer knowledge-sharing workshops with groups from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.

“Identifying and preventing financial abuse is an important issue, particularly for older Australians from multicultural backgrounds. AMCS aims to make this information accessible across the many cultures and community groups within Victoria. We know that there are many key decisions to be made at this stage of life, and while family members are often trusted to help navigate complex finance service systems and communicate on financial matters, seniors may need independent advice and information to prevent abuse,” says Elizabeth Drozd, CEO of Australian Multicultural Community Services.

Grants have been awarded to:

Australian Multicultural Community Services Inc (AMCS)
Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia
Good Shepherd ANZ/Fitted for Work
Griffith University
Northern Suburbs Community Legal Centre
Nyora Men's Shed, Fund Holders for the Gippsland Cluster of Men's Sheds
University of South Australia
University of Sydney

ENDS

About Ecstra Foundation
Ecstra Foundation is a grant making charitable organisation committed to building the financial wellbeing of all Australians within a fair financial system. Money matters. Ecstra is assisting Australians with resources and support to help them talk about money, to navigate through the current crisis and to build future financial security. We inform and support consumers, we engage with organisations across all sectors, we make grants to organisations to support and strengthen communities and we research, measure and evaluate outcomes to grow the evidence base of what works. https://www.ecstra.org.au/

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Financial wellbeing projects in detail

Australian Multicultural Community Services

Money Talks for Better Ageing

Australian Multicultural Community Services (AMCS) provides help at home and support services to older consumers and their carers in Melbourne and Greater Geelong. The grant will support AMCS to raise awareness of financial abuse among older people from CALD backgrounds and build staff capacity to understand and identify financial abuse, deliver co-design workshops to inform the development of multilingual videos and fact sheets in 6 languages.

Council of the Ageing

Fase3 Prototype

Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia is the national peak body for older Australians. COTA advances the rights, interests and futures of Australians as we age. The grant will be used to develop a range of tools that support consumers, families and friends to navigate the aged care system. The prototype will test a series of questions to engage consumers and support them through decisions on their aged care journey to create their own personal road map. The prototype will enable referral out to myagedcare, health services, financial services, and the community sector.

Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand

Circuit-breaking Long-Term Poverty for Older Women: An Integrated Ageing Well Coaching Intervention

Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (GSANZ) addresses the critical, contemporary issues facing women, girls and families. GSANZ will work in partnership with Fitted for Work and deliver one-on-one financial coaching and targeted support to older women who have become unemployed as a result of COVID-19. This includes addressing individual employment and financial security goals within a holistic, strengths-based framework.

Griffith University

Enhancing information in relation to Elder Financial Abuse

Griffith University is supported through a project led by Dr Tracey West, the grant will support practical education resources, to communities and professional service providers about elder financial abuse and suggested protection strategies, with a particular focus on wills, probate and powers of attorney.

Northern Suburbs Community Legal Centre

OPRS Financial Advocate and Educator

Northern Suburbs Community and Legal Centre (NSCLC) provides community legal help including the Older People’s Rights Service (OPRS) in Perth. NSCLC will employ a Financial Advocate and Educator in the OPRS team with a focus on supporting older women.

Nyora Men's Shed

Shed some light on finances - from Shedder to Shed to State

Nyora Men’s Shed auspices the Gippsland Mens Sheds Cluster (44 sheds), who will develop and roll out accessible and targeted financial education resources for older men. The aim is to grow and distribute the resources state-wide through the men’s shed networks.

University of South Australia

The psychological wellbeing and financial decision-making of older Australians in times of uncertainty

The grant will support a multi-disciplinary team at University of South Australia to develop an Assurance Information Package (AIP) for informed financial decision-making for older people. This includes a Financial and Psychological Wellbeing Questionnaire tool to assess psychological wellbeing and financial decision-making in times of crisis. The tool will be disseminated to financial services, aged care providers and advocates. Confirmed project partners include UniSA, RMIT, ECH, COTA SA, and Match Studio.

University of Sydney

Financial skills in older adults

The grant with University of Sydney will support digitising the Test of Financial Skills (TOFS) assessment tool for older consumers – including handling cash, paying bills, budgeting, fraud detection, financial judgment and goal setting, and understanding of financial management responsibilities. Results are received digitally with recommendations for educational and support resources matched to outcomes. The project team includes: UniSyd, UNSW and UniSA.