Busy budgeting services unite

31 May 2012

Busy budgeting services unite

This time of year is frantic for budgeting services across the country. Not only are client numbers up significantly on previous years, but it’s the time of year budgeting services re-affiliate to their national body, the New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services.

CEO Raewyn Fox said the annual reaffiliation process helps ensure the quality of budgeting advice being offered. “When a budgeting services requests affiliation to our umbrella body, the service must have completed a thorough quality control review, met our safety and security standards, and all advisers must have completed our training requirements. At the end of this process we can say: this is a safe budgeting service and we are happy for them to offer advice to the public.”

Not every budgeting service makes the grade. “Some budgeting services will need assistance to meet the required standards and we are fortunate to have on-the-ground staff available to help them work on whatever is the outstanding issue,” Fox said. “We want every budgeting service in New Zealand to be our member, because that would mean every budgeting service was offering excellent budgeting advice.”

Budgeting services affiliated to the Federation of Family Budgeting Services have advisers who have completed significant amounts of training. “An adviser starting their training today would be faced with a 36-hour NZQA recognised training course, spread over six weeks, with an exam at the end. It’s an intensive course and only the best make it through. The trainee is then monitored for at least two client cases with an experienced budget adviser supervising them. After their supervision is completed they finally receive their certificate – but to keep it up to date the adviser must also complete ongoing training modules every year,” Fox said. “It’s all the more impressive when you consider that over 65% of our advisers are volunteers.”

Local communities are a primary focus of budgeting services, as the advice they offer is always free. “Free, confidential and non-judgemental,” said Fox, whose role it is to ensure this happens.

“It’s important people know how valuable our budget advisers are,” Fox said, “and how to recognise an affiliated budgeting service. Look for the logo with a green arrow, and ask to see the service’s certificate of affiliation to the New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services. Double-check by looking under ‘Budget advice services’ in the phonebook, online at www.familybudgeting.org.nz or by calling 0508 BUDGETLINE (283 438).

ENDS

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