Water code outcomes review 2019: family violence changes

On the whole, financial counsellors felt that their clients were treated with dignity and respect. Financial counsellors thought this was due to organisation-wide training in which staff developed greater awareness of the nature of family violence and more sensitivity towards customers affected by family violence. 

Many financial counsellors commented that processes for accessing assistance for family violence have become more straightforward since the 2017 code changes. Financial counsellors and customer advocates agreed that not requiring evidence of family violence has greatly benefitted customers. One financial counsellor noted this approach reduces the need for victims/survivors to repeat their story and relive associated trauma.

Since the 2017 code changes, financial counsellors found that water businesses were generally more willing to provide flexible, effective solutions to debt when family violence was identified. Some solutions included waiving debt, assisting with utility relief grants, putting debt on hold, matching payments and other payment arrangements.

Financial counsellors, customer advocates and family violence service providers all agreed that most customers have limited awareness about the assistance available. This is considered one of the main barriers to accessing assistance. Factors affecting a customer's awareness included their ability to speak English, literacy level (including digital literacy), ability to self-report family violence and socioeconomic situation. Financial counsellors found that awareness improved after accessing their services. A number of financial counsellors suggested water businesses could make information about the assistance available more readily accessible on their websites and actively engage with their customers to increase awareness.

Privacy was raised as an issue for some customers. Victims/survivors living in remote and regional Victoria were especially concerned about the confidentiality of their information. Financial counsellors and customer advocates thought that this is because in smaller communities customers were more likely to personal know water business staff or staff personally know the perpetrator. As a result, victims/survivors were very fearful of their personal information being revealed to the perpetrator. 

When asked to describe clients who sought financial counselling due to family violence, financial counsellors reported a broad range of people. Most were female but some male, and represented varied ages, ethnicities, family situations and socioeconomic situations. Financial counsellors, customer advocates and family violence service providers all recognised that people from non-English speaking backgrounds experienced greater barriers to accessing support. Customer advocates noted that members from the LGBTIQ community, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, older people, people experiencing homeless, people with low literacy, people with mental health problems and people with a disability could also face greater barriers to accessing support.