Your Mob Your Money: Bringing vital financial services to East Arnhem In East Arnhem Land and other remote First Nations communities, financial services are often out of reach. ALPA’s Your Mob Your Money tour set out to change that by bringing superannuation funds, tax and banking representatives, financial counsellors, and Services Australia directly to communities. Over the course of a week, hundreds of Yolŋu community members in Ramingining and Galiwin’ku accessed face to face support, all under one roof. The initiative aimed to break down long-standing barriers to financial services. Bridging the gap in financial services First Nations Australians often face significant difficulties when accessing financial services due to barriers like geographic isolation, language differences, and the complexity of systems. One of the key benefits of the Your Mob Your Money tour was having multiple financial services available for in-person consultations, allowing for easy collaboration between providers to suit each client’s needs. This meant that any community member could speak with superannuation funds, a tax representative, and a financial counsellor all in one visit, streamlining the process and making it far more accessible. “I would like to thank all the representatives and stakeholders for their support in executing such an impactful project. It was wonderful to see the so many community members walking across the room, visiting one stakeholder then another. The power of this project lies within the stakeholder's willingness to meet with members where they feel most comfortable, in their community. It is there that members are able to deeply consider their options when it comes to financial matters” said ALPA Community Engagement Manager Eddy Alder. Uncovering millions in lost super While the above barriers affect all areas, from banking to tax, superannuation stands out as a particularly disadvantaged space. Many people don’t know they have super, how to access it, or how to consolidate multiple accounts. AustralianSuper, HESTA, Rest, Hostplus all played a key role in connecting members with their super. Collectively, the superfunds were able to uncover a conservative total of $4 million in lost super across the two communities. One AustralianSuper member didn’t know where their super was. In this case, and many others, the challenge was made more complex by differences between Indigenous and Western names, which can lead to mismatches in records. With support from the AustralianSuper team, the member’s account was located, finding a balance of $122,000 - an amount they hadn’t been aware of. The team walked the member through their options, including withdrawing the super or converting it into a regular income stream. With help from their carer and interpreter, they were able to understand their choices for retirement. "The experience that we had on the Your Mob Your Money tour with ALPA was very similar to what we see in other remote areas – without the services available in urban areas, it can be difficult for members to engage with their super in a meaningful way" said AustralianSuper. "At AustralianSuper, we work in multiple ways to better respond to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members. We conduct our own Outreach Program, we work to improve cultural understanding around the organisation and we support education efforts. Having a community partner to facilitate connections to locals is essential. ALPA do a fantastic job of connecting the service providers to people in community, attracting a huge number of people to every event and making sure it’s as successful as possible for all involved." Read SBS Story: For nine years, this Yolngu man was left in the dark about a $40,000 super fund his brother left behind Mob Strong Debt Help Mob Strong Debt Help joined the Your Mob Your Money tour to provide First Nations-led legal advice and financial counselling to community members in Ramingining and Galiwin’ku. “We engaged with many mob in the two communities and learned more about what systemic issues there are so we can try and create big change through our policy work” said Mob Strong Acting Director Mark Holden. “We were able to connect and hear the frustration and barriers that our mob traverse with when it comes to the ATO and banks. We assisted some of them through the obstacles and listened to their stories to identify the financial systemic harm. We need this to keep fighting for justice and equity for our Mob to get a fair go” he said. Tax support: Up to 20 years of unlodged tax returns Tax support was a major part of the Your Mob Your Money tour, with representatives on hand to help community members lodge overdue returns, update details, and understand their entitlements. For many Yolŋu people who attended, this was the first time they had received face-to-face help with tax. Over the week, more than 1,000 tax returns were lodged across Ramingining and Galiwin’ku. In Ramingining, one community member had over 20 years of unlodged tax returns. With support from SAMAF, all returns were successfully lodged. Public Guardian and Trustee The Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT) was proud to join Your Mob Your Money, collaborating with other financial services to support remote community members. PGT supports people with managing estates, wills and other financial assets. "This was our first opportunity to be on the ground in these communities - connecting directly with people, assisting with Wills, locating beneficiaries, and providing guidance on estate and application matters. We also gathered valuable local insights and strengthened relationships with partner agencies and service providers" said PGT. The visit reinforced how vital it is for organisations like ours to meet people where they are, listen to their experiences, and make services easier to access." Acknowledgements ALPA extends its sincere thanks to all the financial service providers who joined the Your Mob Your Money East Arnhem Land tour: SAMAF Tax Consultants AustralianSuper HESTA Hostplus Rest Super Mob Strong Help Debt Anglicare NTPublic Guardian and Trustee (PGT) Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) Services Australia Westpac National Australia Bank (NAB) Manage Cookie Preferences