MoneyBusiness - Corporate Responsibility

MoneyBusiness

Indigenous financial literacy

We have used our skills and expertise in financial literacy to tailor specific programs designed to help improve the money management skills of Indigenous Australians. These programs include MoneyBusiness, My Moola and a partnership with the Traditional Credit Union.

MoneyBusiness

MoneyBusiness was developed to build the money management skills and confidence of Indigenous people and develop a stronger savings culture in remote communities. ANZ developed MoneyBusiness in partnership with the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) in 2005.

MoneyBusiness was developed after ANZ's research showed that financial exclusion was a significant problem among Indigenous communities.

Find out more about our financial exclusion research.

Since then, we have also strengthened our commitments to Indigenous Australia through a Reconciliation Action Plan.

MoneyBusiness has brought together ANZ's knowledge and experience in financial literacy and the Australian Government's overview of service delivery in remote locations. The program was established in 2005 at pilot sites in Katherine, Tennant Creek, Nguiu (Tiwi Islands) and Galiwinku (Elcho Island) in the Northern Territory, and Geraldton and Kununurra in Western Australia.

Local Indigenous people in each of these communities have been employed as money management workers, providing Indigenous individuals and families with coaching in financial literacy, budgeting, bill paying and developing savings plans.

Since the pilot, the Australian Government has extended money management services for Indigenous communities, and the MoneyBusiness model has been a key in this expansion. Many more money management sites are now operational in selected communities in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia.

As part of this partnership, ANZ has produced a comprehensive set of community workshop materials for use in money management service sites. These materials were developed in consultation with local communities and Indigenous workers, and are specifically designed to take into account particular issues facing Indigenous people. They have been designed in a culturally appropriate way to facilitate learning for people in remote locations.

ANZ and FaHCSIA will now further develop the MoneyBusiness education materials and develop a national training program which will support community organisations in delivering basic financial education to Indigenous people.

My Moola: Opening Financial Pathways
Launched in 2007, My Moola: Opening Financial Pathways is a financial literacy program being delivered to Indigenous communities in and around Shepparton, Victoria. It is delivered by Indigenous facilitators, employed by local organisations. The program came out of an invitation to ANZ from the First Nations Foundation to work together with the Goulburn Valley Indigenous community. It draws on the experience of MoneyBusiness but is tailored for the Shepparton community. The program includes a strong personal development component. An initial evaluation by Melbourne University has found that My Moola has resonated with the Indigenous participants. In addition to those who completed the program, My Moola has reached over 1000 people in the wider Indigenous community through local events, trade fairs, family sessions and graduation ceremonies. ANZ and First Nations Foundation will continue the My Moola program in Shepparton in 2009, and have also been successful in gaining support from the Victorian Government (Office for Women's Policy) to run a dedicated cohort for Indigenous women. First Nations Foundation will also seek to extend the program to other Indigenous communities around Australia.

My Moola: Opening Financial Pathways

Launched in 2007, My Moola: Opening Financial Pathways is a financial literacy program being delivered to Indigenous communities in and around Shepparton, Victoria. It is delivered by Indigenous facilitators, employed by local organisations.

The program came out of an invitation to ANZ from the First Nations Foundation to work together with the Goulburn Valley Indigenous community. It draws on the experience of MoneyBusiness but is tailored for the Shepparton community. The program includes a strong personal development component.

An initial evaluation by Melbourne University has found that My Moola has resonated with the Indigenous participants. In addition to those who completed the program, My Moola has reached over 1000 people in the wider Indigenous community through local events, trade fairs, family sessions and graduation ceremonies.

ANZ and First Nations Foundation will continue the My Moola program in Shepparton in 2009, and have also been successful in gaining support from the Victorian Government (Office for Women's Policy) to run a dedicated cohort for Indigenous women. First Nations Foundation will also seek to extend the program to other Indigenous communities around Australia.

Partnership with Traditional Credit Union
The Traditional Credit Union (TCU) was established in 1994 to provide culturally appropriate financial services to Indigenous people living in remote communities in the Northern Territory, particularly those disadvantaged by a lack of existing services. ANZ has extended its partnership with TCU, which commenced in 2006. Through this partnership, TCU has employed a Financial Literacy Project Manager to develop and deliver financial literacy support for TCU's 11,000 members based in the Northern Territory communities of Milingimbi and Wadeye. TCU General Manager Cathy Hunt welcomes ANZ's involvement: "By working with ANZ, we will use the materials they have developed specifically for Indigenous communities to assist our own members to build knowledge, skills and confidence about money management. Ultimately, we will aim to develop a stronger savings culture and help our members to enhance their living standards through improved financial literacy."

Partnership with Traditional Credit Union

The Traditional Credit Union (TCU) was established in 1994 to provide culturally appropriate financial services to Indigenous people living in remote communities in the Northern Territory, particularly those disadvantaged by a lack of existing services.

ANZ has extended its partnership with TCU, which commenced in 2006. Through this partnership, TCU has employed a Financial Literacy Project Manager to develop and deliver financial literacy support for TCU's 11,000 members based in the Northern Territory communities of Milingimbi and Wadeye. TCU General Manager Cathy Hunt welcomes ANZ's involvement:

"By working with ANZ, we will use the materials they have developed specifically for Indigenous communities to assist our own members to build knowledge, skills and confidence about money management. Ultimately, we will aim to develop a stronger savings culture and help our members to enhance their living standards through improved financial literacy."