News Articles

A new video doing the rounds on you tube relates to managing your debt and who is best to help you through debt problems.

This video is produced for www.yourfinancialrights.org and directs you to the Financial counsellor Helpline 1800 007 007

Financial counsellors are available in every State and Territory and work in non-profit community organisations. Their services are free, independent and confidential. They can help you manage a short-term crisis and plan to prevent a future one.

The free hotline is open from 9:30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. When you call this number you will be automatically transferred to the phone service in your state. Calls from mobile phones may incur a fee from the mobile phone carrier.

The producers of this video outline four key Debt Management Firms. Management firms may appear as simple, helpful options for people experiencing financial stress, but often they make things worse through high fees, ill-suited advice or questionable business practices. Their cheap tricks end up being quite expensive. Let’s really get to know them.

Credit Repair

Credit Repairers claim that they will be able to “fix” or “clean” a bad credit report and “improve” a poor credit score. However their ability to do any of this is limited and if your credit report is inaccurate you can get it fixed for free.

Money Management

“Money Management,” “Personal Budgeting Services”, or “Debt Payment Services” offer to manage your income, bills and debts, while providing you with an allowance for daily expenses. Some also claim to provide other services, such as negotiating future repayment arrangements with your creditors. They then charge you periodic maintenance or management fees, usually in addition to an up-front establishment fee.

Debt Negotiation

Debt Negotiation is a negotiation between you (the debtor) and your creditor(s) to settle a debt on terms beneficial to both parties. Debt Negotiators present debt negotiation as something they do as experienced “professionals”. But in many cases they are far from it.

Debt Agreement

Debt Agreements are an alternative to bankruptcy for people who are unable to pay their debts. Debt Agreement brokers usually offer to provide a “free consultation,” during which they may suggest that entering into a debt agreement is your best or only option. This is often not the case. A Debt Agreement is an insolvency option and has serious consequences.

Enjoy the video linked below.

Our Affordable SA Helpline team has been receiving quite a number of calls from people who are looking for assistance lodging their Tax return. Tax time can seem quite daunting and many people find it hard to afford to pay a professional for financial assistance in completing their Tax return. Help is at hand as the ATO now offers a free service using accredited volunteers to assist you. Phone 13 28 61

You are eligible for Tax Help in 2015–16 if your income is around $50,000 or less for the income year and you did not:

- work as a contractor, for example a contract cleaner or taxi driver

- run a business, including as a sole trader

- have partnership or trust matters

- sell shares or an investment property

- own a rental property

- have capital gains tax (CGT)

- receive royalties

- receive distributions from a trust, other than a managed fund

- receive foreign income, other than a foreign pension or annuity

Tax Help - Another top tip from our friendly Affordable SA Helpline staff

1800 025 539

All around the country this week you will see bargain hunters rummaging around the racks and searching feverishly through the shelves. No its not a "half yearly clearance!" or an "everything must go, closing down sale!". This week the bargain basement place to be is at your local Op Shop.

"Op Till You Drop" is the catch cry of this years National Op Shop Week 2016. Across the week you'll find plenty of media keen to teach you the top tips of the Op Shop Trade from finding the real bargains to hearing about the treasures and unfortunately the trash found in the Op Shop Bins. https://www.dosomethingnearyou.com.au/national-op-shop-week for more information.

Seriously, if you have never set foot inside your local Op Shop then this is the week to take the time to flick through the racks and shelves with many stores eager to serve. Please remember that the money raised from Op Shops goes back to the community. Support them to help those in need.

A new energy study is looking for particpants from Adelaide and surrounds to trial some 'smart' devices which allow households to control home appliances and lighting. The purpose of the study is to understand how these devices affect electricity use in the home.

No building work or change to your electrical service is needed and you can keep the devices after the trial, FREE.

No special knowledge is required but participants need to own a smart phone and have a WiFi network.

The project examines:

· Routines and energy use in your home

· Ways to help households manage electricity bills

· What you think about new ‘smart’ devices for homes

What does participation involve?

· An informal interview at your home (about 1 hour) and a follow up

discussion a few months later

· During our visit we will give you some devices free of charge to try

which you can keep after the study is finished

· Participation is entirely voluntary and details remain confidential

Go to www.homeenergystudy.com to submit your application.

If you have been looking for something surrounded by more entertaining controversy than the senate ticket in the last election, then on Tuesday evening you can participate in the 2016 census. It’s five year fact finding mission will attempt to capture a wealth of information by asking you to log on with your own special 12 digit number. The length of the census questionnaire is possibly only a whisker longer than the senate ballot sheet but the heated debate around it is just as fierce. On one hand it is good that the country is finally talking about such issues as privacy and public trust (something not many people consider when they use a loyalty card) but there is also great concern that if people express their viewpoint by boycotting or not providing their true details we may be in danger of losing the ability to capture accurate information to help meet the needs of many groups such as the 6000 homeless in South Australia.

The information gathered about people experiencing homelessness is key to forming policy and the associated funding decisions that provide the services and assistance for this community. Many people slip in and out of the homeless category as their circumstances change but without help from community groups many will experience even greater hardship or possibly suffer tragic outcomes.

You might ask how does the Government plan to match such groups with a 12-digit barcode and separate them from the people just wondering around the streets looking for Pokemon. This is where the controversy and plethora of Pokemon humour ends, as there has been a lot of work done over the years by many organisations and welfare groups to identify and measure these groups so that an accurate picture can be made of the homeless. In fact just classifying these groups can be problematic. The ABS definition of homelessness includes rough sleepers, couch surfers, persons in supported accommodation and persons in severely overcrowded dwellings - different procedures are in place to capture the information for each category.

This year the ABS has enlisted special field officers predominantly made up of the ranks of the homeless service provider networks, their staff and volunteers as well people who are or have experienced homelessness in the past. Now that’s more progressive thinking. These activities, which may involve a short interview, could take up to a week to complete and already training for these groups and reference material has been provided or well underway. The community organisations know how important this task is and are keen to give the homeless a proper voice and attention.

It follows that with this much controversy the public debate will continue long after Tuesday. Perhaps well into the next five years when the ABS will need to address public concerns fully or once again be the target of some very funny sarcastic anti-ads and online videos. Still, on Tuesday evening Pokemon hunters may not stay at home to fill out the census but at least some provision has been made to count the many homeless and perhaps not leave them totally out in the cold.

Tomorrow morning (Friday 5th August) at 7.30 an army of people will experience what it is like to walk along the streets early in the morning seeking a shower, meal, cup of tea and a warm, welcoming place. This is a fundraiser for the Hutt Street Centre that provides care and assistance to those experiencing homelessness.

The walk starts on Wakefield Road, then onto Hutt Street, past Hutt St Centre and finishing in the South Park Lands for a ‘traditional’ Hutt St Centre BBQ breakfast kindly provided by Badge. It will only take just over an hour of your time.

Because no person who is homeless should feel like they’re walking alone

1800 003 308 - The homelessness gateway is a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week telephone service which can help with support and access to emergency accommodation.

Everyone who contacts the service is assessed and referred to the best and most appropriate service. Any person experiencing homelessness or at the risk of Homelessness is eligible for this service.

There are many services across the state that provide help for the homeless of South Australia. From Ceduna to the Riverland these services provide assistance for families, adults, young people, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people and domestic or family violence situations that leave people without shelter, food and care. The Homelessness Gateway Service is provided by United Communities

A full list of homelessness services across the state is available on the SA government website:

https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/housing/emergency-shelter-and-homelessness/homelessness-services-providers/homelessness-service-providers

Ring the Homelessness Gateway 1800 003 308 or use the Affordable SA App as a pocket reference to find the right service required.

As part of Homelessness Week we are highlighting some of the services that are available in Adelaide.

Orange Sky Laundry is a mobile laundry service for the homeless in Adelaide.

"Peggy" began servicing Adelaide on the 30th of March, operating 6 days a week. Every single night, over 6,000 people find themselves homeless in South Australia. Peggy will provide lots of washing and conversations for this community.

Orange Sky Laundry is a catalyst for conversation. In the one hour time it takes to wash and dry someone's clothes there is absolutely nothing to do but sit down on one of our 6 orange chairs and have a positive and genuine conversation between our everyday volunteers and everyday friends on the street.

http://www.orangeskylaundry.com.au/#!adelaide-van/c2oj4

The extreme weather conditions in Adelaide and South Australia has been creating havoc this winter. Imagine the wet and cold for those without the security of four walls and who sleep rough. This week 1-7 August is Homelessness Week, an annual themed week coordinated by Homelessness Australia (HA). It is used to raise awareness of people experiencing homelessness and the issues these people face.

Homelessness is not a choice. The majority of people are homeless due to financial and emotional hardship. The biggest cause of homelessness is family and domestic violence, followed by financial difficulties. Currently there are 105,000 people experiencing homelessness every night in Australia, and many more living in insecure housing, one step away from being homeless.

The largest proportion of Australia's homeless population is out of sight and out of mind, moving from one place to the next. These are our 'hidden homeless'.

See the Affordable App under Accommodation Services for services available to assist the homeless in South Australia and visit www.facebook.com/HomelessnessWeek or join the conversation at #homelessnesscounts to show everyone that ‘Homelessness Counts’ in Australia.