Financial support in West Arnhem Money stories with community members In late November, ALPA's CDP and Community Engagement teams were in Gunbalanya and Jabiru for their quarterly Community Advisory Committee meetings. These meetings are an opportunity to meet with community leaders and provide updates on program delivery in their communities.The real highlight of the trip was bringing representatives from Australian Super and SAMAF Tax Consultancy to support the community with their tax and super stories.This trip provided a valuable opportunity to offer general advice, helping community members understand how superannuation works, how to access it, and the importance of nominating beneficiaries. Over two days, the team engaged with 30 community members and had some fantastic financial outcomes.One memorable success was a community member who discovered a significant amount of superannuation he was unaware of. He said that without this engagement, he would have had a really hard time with his money story. The bigger picture of missing superannuation The issue of missing superannuation disproportionately affects First Nations people in Australia. Many First Nations people face barriers to accessing their super funds for reasons such as complex identification requirements and language barriers. These challenges are amplified in remote areas where access to resources can be limited, and financial literacy may be lower. This means there is often substantial amounts of unclaimed superannuation in First Nations communities. For context, as of June 2022 there was a total of $16 billion in lost or unclaimed super sitting with either super funds or the ATO (Australian Taxation Office, 2023). Providing culturally appropriate financial support is an important step towards improving economic independence for First Nations peoples. ALPA is proud to have had the opportunity to lead this engagement. Manage Cookie Preferences