Financial industry experts have convened to help address identification and verification challenges faced by First Nations consumers across the sector.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission recently published a summary document from its latest workshop, a deep dive into day-to-day First Nations consumer experiences.
The workshop led to prospective projects and initiatives that could be broadly adopted across industry to improve the financial position of First Nations customers, with more flexible industry approaches encouraged across the sector.
Read the report from ASIC's latest workshop here.
The ASIC workshop is one of a series led by its Indigenous Outreach Program, and part of the its engagement with industry under the commission's Indigenous Financial Services Framework.
Two further workshops are planned before the end of this financial year, with a March workshop focused on the credit, banking, general and life insurance sectors, and a June workshop on superannuation.
Each workshop will hone in on specific themes identified by First Nations consumers as prevalent challenges they had experienced across the financial services system, as well as probe areas where progress and innovative solutions had emerged.
The March 14 workshop - Identifying and supporting First Nations consumers experiencing financial abuse - will explore how to better understand First Nations consumer experience of financial abuse through discussions with industry advocates.
It will also look at community-led solutions for financial service providers to provide useful support to impacted consumers, and previous examples of culturally-safe responses that led to positive outcomes.
ASIC last June hosted the 2023 Indigenous Super Summit and has previously supported the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees host similar summits between 2015-2019.
The ASIC workshops are the latest example of the broader financial sector's increased First Nations engagement, as more businesses and organisations interact across Australia's financial services system.
In January the Commonwealth Bank and Supply Nation launched a bespoke service designed to support growth or simplify operational processes for Indigenous businesses, with tailored banking packages, workshops and an Indigenous Business Line and Concierge service, the bank's new "Indigenous front door" featuring culturally-trained banking experts each assigned to an Indigenous business owner.
Last Thursday an Indigenous-led superannuation summit supported by AMP was held in Sydney, featuring First Nations speakers and community voices offering valuable insights from a grassroots perspective to industry stakeholders.
The 2024 First Nations Super Summit was hosted by the First Nations Foundation, Australia's only national Indigenous financial education organisation, and examined barriers First Nations people faced accessing and managing their superannuation, while determining priority areas of focus over the coming year.
AMP head of Indigenous Programs and proud Koori woman, Binowee Bayles, said the bank was committed to helping foster equitable retirement systems for First Nations retirees.
"This was a wonderful opportunity for industry to come together with FNF to find practical solutions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to better understand and benefit from the supesr system," she said.
For more information or to attend the ASIC workshop on March 14, email here.
