INTRODUCTION

About the National Financial Capability Strategy

When more Australians are in control of their financial lives, everyone benefits.

Collaboration across the government, business, community, education and research sectors to support strong financial capabilities in individuals, families and in communities makes a difference.

A range of factors influence the financial decisions people make every day. Life can be complicated and the types of decisions we need to make change over time. The way we manage our money today may not reflect our financial needs in the future.

The National Financial Capability Strategy recognises that long-term behavioural change cannot be achieved by a single program or a one-off intervention. We are committed to more deeply understanding the contexts in which people make decisions and the circumstances or situations in which they might need additional or specific support.

The more we work together and grow the network of resources to support people to better manage money day-to-day, make informed money decisions, and plan for the future, the closer we come to realising our vision, which is for all Australians to be in control of their financial lives.

Strategy at a glance

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WHY

Financial capability matters

Every day, people are engaging in the financial system.

Sometimes they're doing this in sophisticated and complex ways, but most often it's simply through the common tasks of everyday living. For example, almost every Australian has a bank account.

Whether they have a little money or a lot, Australians are interacting with financial products and services that they need to understand and use in ways that best work for them.

When things are going well and we feel our financial lives are on track, we are better prepared to make plans for the future. And the good news is 60% of Australians feel they are on top of their finances. But a significant number of Australians struggle to manage their money. In fact, more than 1 in 3 people find dealing with money stressful and overwhelming.

Improving Australians' financial capability won't happen overnight; this is a long journey, but the benefits are significant. By investing in these skills and behaviours now, we will make a difference to so many later.

WHAT

Building financial capability

We each have our own money story, which is made up of the positive and negative experiences we've had with money over our lifetime. These experiences inform our financial attitudes, biases and behaviours, and the more we understand our approach to money, the more opportunities we have to take action to improve our financial wellbeing.

The National Strategy identifies three behavioural areas in which Australians can be empowered to take control of their financial lives:

  • Managing money day-to-day
  • Making informed money decisions
  • Planning for the future.

LEARN MORE WHAT

Making changes that count

What does it mean to be in control of your financial life? For some people, it might mean knowing exactly where each dollar goes; for others, it might mean knowing where to get reliable information when making a financial decision, or having a long-term plan and committing to saving.

When more Australians start building good money habits – talking and learning about money throughout their life and taking control of their financial situation – then we will be achieving our goal of helping improve their financial capability.

Focusing on where we can make the biggest difference is often at the centre of a program or initiative. Under the National Strategy, organisations are working together to support and promote three key behaviours that encourage stronger financial capability. Although these behaviours may play out differently according to an individual's or family's circumstances, there is no doubt that strengthening these behaviours over time have a positive impact on household finances and, in turn, the Australian economy.

Building capability through the 3 core behaviours

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HOW

Achieving more together

For more than a decade, organisations across the government, business, community, education, and research sectors have worked together to strengthen communities by promoting a greater understanding of money and strengthening financial inclusion, resilience and wellbeing.

The basis of these efforts are commitments to:

  • Educate – Promoting lifelong learning to assist Australians to develop and enhance their financial capability throughout their lives.
  • Inform – Providing access to relevant, impartial information and tools to assist with financial decision-making in various contexts.
  • Support – Helping people better understand their situation, assess their choices and avoid financial pitfalls.

We have a lot to learn from each other. The community benefits when knowledge gaps are highlighted and opportunities to do more together are explored.

LEARN MORE HOW

The Financial Capability community

Australia's financial capability community is actively addressing a number of strategic priorities. Under the National Strategy, we are delivering on these priorities in a variety of ways to a range of audiences. Because each person's circumstances, strengths and experiences are different, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to improving financial wellbeing; but, with the right education, information and support, we can make a big difference.

  1. Educate: Attitudes and behaviours around money can be shaped from an early age and education is a key component to support stronger financial capability. Although Australian children learn about money at school we also need to revisit and grow our money knowledge and skills to manage our lives as our financial requirements and responsibilities change.
  2. Inform: People need accurate and impartial information to make the best financial decisions for their personal circumstances. To make informed decisions, it is important that Australians have timely access to relevant information in a user-friendly format.
  3. Support: Practical guidance and support is essential for helping people deal with money matters in times of stress and vulnerability, or when they just need extra help to make a financial decision.
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MEASURING SUCCESS

Monitoring and evaluation

We know that the National Strategy drives work that makes a difference in people's lives. But are we reaching them at the right time and with the right information and support? Are we leaving anyone out? Are there people that need something extra that we aren't considering closely enough?

We all want better outcomes for all Australians. In particular, we are committed to ensuring:

  • WOMEN engage with their finances
  • YOUNG PEOPLE make informed decisions
  • OLDER AUSTRALIANS receive the support they need
  • INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS access appropriate financial products and services.

Making a difference is important, but understanding how we make a difference – and sharing this understanding – allows us to promote and embed sustainable activity across sectors. We can do better to measure the impact of financial capability initiatives. It is essential we have the evidence to do more where it counts the most.

We will monitor and evaluate activity to ensure that what we deliver leads to Australians becoming more financially capable.

LEARN MORE MEASURING SUCCESS

Tracking progress

The National Strategy provides the framework to monitor and evaluate activity, to support and promote research and to share what works with others.

Monitoring and evaluation

Many people and organisations are working across Australia to improve financial capability and deliver on the vision of the National Financial Capability Strategy.

Research

Ongoing studies in Australia and around the world include research into indicators of financial skill and offer a useful benchmark to our work's effectiveness. Important surveys include ANZ's Financial Wellbeing report, ASIC's Australian Financial Attitudes and Behaviour Tracker, NAB and the Centre for Social Impact's Financial Resilience in Australia research and the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

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ABOUT

The National Financial Capability Strategy 2018 was developed through wide consultations with Australia’s financial capability community in 2017 and 2018.

The Strategy builds on the foundation of Australia's prior financial literacy strategies, the National Financial Literacy Strategy 2014-17 (2.0 MB), and the National Financial Literacy Strategy 2011 (905 KB).

Information about achievements under the previous Strategies is available through Annual NFLS Highlights Report 2016-17, Annual NFLS Highlights Report 2015-16, and Annual NFLS Highlights Report 2014-15.

National Financial Literacy Strategy 2104-17
2014-17

National Financial Literacy Strategy 2014-17
National Financial Literacy Strategy 2014–17: Action plan
2014-17

National Financial Literacy Strategy 2014–17: Action plan
National Financial Literacy Strategy 2011
2011

National Financial Literacy Strategy 2011
National Financial Literacy Strategy Annual Highlights Report 2016-17
2016-17

National Financial Literacy Strategy Annual Highlights Report 2016-17
National Financial Literacy Strategy Annual Highlights Report 2015-16
2015-16

National Financial Literacy Strategy Annual Highlights Report 2015-16
National Financial Literacy Strategy Annual Highlights Report 2014-15
2014-15

National Financial Literacy Strategy Annual Highlights Report 2014-15
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