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FREE
Interactive check · ~2 minutes
Broke enough for free help, or rich enough for paid help?
Here's something nobody tells you about the Australian financial system. There are two genuinely good forms of help available, and they sit at opposite ends of a very wide gap.
At one end, financial counsellors — excellent, free, and generally there for crisis. Debt collectors, disconnection notices, the moment things have already come apart.
At the other, financial advisers — also excellent, properly licensed, and priced such that you usually need substantial assets before the fee makes sense.
And in between sits almost everybody. Not in crisis. Not wealthy. Just trying to get somewhere, with nobody whose job it is to help.
This check tells you where you sit — and, more usefully, what actually exists for someone in your position right now.
It isn't a recommendation about what you should do with your money, and it isn't an assessment of your financial position. It's a map of what help exists in Australia and who each kind is built for. Nobody sees your answers, and no result is a verdict.
Twelve questions · Nobody sees your answers · No result is a verdict
Section 1 of 3
Answer honestly. Nobody sees this but you.
Have I missed a bill, loan or rent payment in the last three months?
Am I using credit, buy-now-pay-later or an overdraft to cover regular essentials?
Have I been contacted by a debt collector, or received a disconnection or default notice?
Am I avoiding opening mail or banking apps because of what might be in them?
Four answers, then we'll move on.
Your result
Free expert help is available to you right now.
And it's genuinely good. This is the part of the system Australia actually built well, and most people don't findout about it until far later than they should have.
Financial counsellors are qualified professionals. They're free. They're independent — they don't sell products and they aren't paid commission. They can negotiate with creditors on your behalf, apply for hardship arrangements, explain your options with utilities and banks, and stop a situation escalating while there are still options on the table.
The thing worth knowing: you don't have to be at the worst point to call. Most counsellors will tell you they wish people rang months earlier, because early has more options than late.
NATIONAL DEBT HELPLINE — 1800 007 007
Free, confidential, Australia-wide.
Nothing about being here is permanent, and nothing about it is a character verdict. It's a situation, and
situations have exits.
Your result
You're in the missing middle.
Welcome. This is the largest group, and the one the system quietly forgot.
You're not in crisis, so the free services aren't aimed at you. You probably don't have the asset base that
makes an adviser's fee make sense, so that door is expensive to walk through. Which means that for most everyday money questions — how super actually works, whether you're being paid correctly, what a life change is going to cost, whether that lease is a good deal — you're on your own with a search engine and a lot of confident strangers on the internet.
That isn't a personal failing. It's a structural gap, and it's exactly why Finance Wellness exists.
WHAT ACTUALLY EXISTS FOR YOU RIGHT NOW
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Moneysmart (moneysmart.gov.au) — the government's own financial literacy site. Genuinely good, no
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product sales, free calculators.
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Your super fund. Most large funds offer general information, and some limited advice about your own
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account, at no extra cost. Badly underused.
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The ATO for anything tax, and Services Australia for anything payments-related. Both will answer
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questions directly.
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Financial education that isn't trying to sell you anything. Which is the whole point of what we're
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building here.
Most of what you need isn't a product. It's a plain explanation of how the thing works, so you can make your own call.
Your result
Your situation may have outgrown DIY.
Enough moving parts are now interacting that the cost of getting it wrong has gone up.
Multiple income streams, investments outside super, an approaching retirement, or a large one-off event — these are the situations where decisions start affecting each other in ways that are genuinely hard to reason about alone, and where tax and timing consequences can be significant and difficult to reverse.
That's the point at which paying a licensed financial adviser can start to make sense, because the fee is being weighed against a much larger number.
IF YOU DO EXPLORE IT, QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING
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How are you paid — a flat fee, a percentage of assets, or commission?
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What's the total first-year cost, and the ongoing cost after that?
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Are you independent, or do you have relationships with particular product providers?
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What's covered in the fee, and what costs extra?
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Can I see a sample Statement of Advice?
You can verify anyone's licensing on ASIC's Financial Advisers Register before your first meeting. It takes
about a minute and it's free.
Being in this group doesn't mean you must hire someone. It means the calculation has changed, and it's worth doing deliberately rather than by default.
Where should we send it?
One email, and it's yours. No account to make, and the link doesn't expire.
You'll also get The Note, a fortnightly letter about money. Unsubscribe in one click, any time. We never sell or share your details. Privacy Policy
The boundaries
Finance Wellness provides general financial education only. We do not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence, we do not provide personal financial product advice, and nothing in this resource takes into account your objectives, financial situation or needs.
Nothing here is a recommendation to acquire, hold or dispose of any financial product. We take no commissions and no referral fees, and there is no product being sold at the end of this.
Figures are current for the 2026–27 Australian financial year. For advice about your circumstances, speak to a licensed financial adviser or a registered tax agent.
This check is an educational tool, not an assessment of your financial position. It does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs, and its result is not a recommendation to use or not use any service. If you are in financial difficulty, the National Debt Helpline (1800 007 007) is free and independent.