ASIC has released the National Financial Literacy Strategy Annual Highlights Report 2016‑17.
The Report paints a national picture of financial literacy programs and initiatives delivered by a wide range of organisations across the government, education, industry and community sectors in support of the National Financial Literacy Strategy, led and coordinated by ASIC. The scale of work continues to grow with over 70 organisations supporting or contributing to initiatives aligned with the National Strategy.
ASIC Deputy Chair Peter Kell emphasised the importance of working collaboratively across sectors for greater reach and impact.
‘Strengthening financial capability takes time. Changes in people’s attitudes and behaviours around money are shaped by a range of factors and often include making mistakes along the way’, said Mr Kell.
‘We are making progress but understand improving the financial wellbeing of all Australians requires a long term commitment. This Report demonstrates that there are many opportunities across the country to help people build confidence around financial matters and to be better prepared to make informed financial decisions’, added Mr Kell.
Download the National Financial Literacy Strategy Annual Highlights Report 2016-17 at financialliteracy.gov.au.
Background
ASIC is the lead Australian Government agency for financial literacy, consistent with its strategic priority and statutory objective to promote confident and informed consumers and investors.
ASIC’s financial capability program includes:
- Leading the National Financial Literacy Strategy;
- Providing consumer information via ASIC’s MoneySmart; and
- Delivering ASIC’s MoneySmart Teaching program.
The National Financial Literacy Strategy, led and coordinated by ASIC, is a framework to guide policies, program and activities that aim to strengthen Australians’ financial capability.
The five priorities in the National Strategy are:
- Educate the next generation, particularly through the formal education system;
- Increase the use of free, impartial information, tools and resources;
- Provide quality targeted guidance and support;
- Strengthen co-ordination and effective partnerships;
- Improve research, measurement and evaluation.
The emerging themes of the National Financial Literacy Strategy activities for 2016 -17 are:
- Many organisations are striving to better understand the barriers and enablers to building financial capability and influencing behavioural change;
- Collaborative approaches through partnerships are enhancing the reach and impact of programs and activities;
- The multiplicity of audiences and contexts underscores the value of targeted approaches and tailored programs and resources to respond to particular issues and challenges;
- Several streams of research are deepening understanding of how financial literacy contributes to financial wellbeing, the interplay of attitudes and behaviours, and the role of financial resilience;
- Work in the financial inclusion space offers potential for increasing consumer engagement through financially inclusive products and services;
- The growing emphasis on evaluating financial literacy initiatives is helping to identify program success factors and articulate outcomes for participants.
ASIC is developing a National Strategy from 2018 that will build on the achievements to date and support the effective delivery of initiatives in the future.