Financial Wellbeing Program Guidelines: Briefing Paper

The Department of Human Services of South Australia (DHS SA), on behalf of the Minister for Human Services, is responsible for running a suite of Affordable Living Programs to support community members experiencing or at risk of experiencing financial insecurity, at the same time building the financial capability and inclusion of people receiving assistance.

The current Affordable Living Program contracts expire in 2023, which creates an opportunity to reinvigorate the program by engaging with the sector and aligning the program with the DHS Social Impact Framework to ensure the new program better meets the needs and expectations of the community.

As a part of the re-design process, DHS commissioned the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) Flinders to lead consultations and re-design process with sector practitioners, building on past research with people with lived experience of financial insecurity; and developing recommendations for the new program guideline development.

The project is led by Professor Ian Goodwin-Smith and Professor Svetlana Bogomolova.

This document is a briefing paper containing high-level summary of insights from the sector engagement and recommendations for the principles and program logic for the re-designed program.