Financial counselling - listening that changes lives

If money worries are keeping you up at night, or you just want help making sense of it all — you’re not alone. Many people don’t realise that free financial counselling is available, or they hold back from reaching out because of misunderstanding or shame. Yet behind every bill or bank statement is a story, and sometimes the first step toward hope is simply being heard.

For Duong Lieu, a Moneycare financial counsellor in Melbourne’s west, the real strength of financial counselling is simple. It’s not just about informed guidance and building financial capability — it’s about giving people the space to talk, reflect and breathe. Sometimes that alone can ease the weight of worry and uncertainty.

“When people come to see me, even if I can’t immediately change their financial situation, something changes just by listening,” Duong says. “I see it in their shoulders, their eyes. They often walk away with more hope.

“People know at the end of our session that someone listened to them. That’s so important,” he adds. “Making a change is often uncomfortable, but when you have a safe space where someone listens, you feel more able to do something about it and less alone.”

Role of a financial counsellor — listening, support and expertise

In FY2024-2025, Moneycare supported 10,546 individuals through 47,958 sessions across Australia.

Duong divides his time between three roles at Moneycare — financial counsellor, practice specialist and professional supervisor. Each contributes to better outcomes for community members, but what he values most is sitting face-to-face with people, supporting them in both English and Vietnamese.

“I always look forward to Wednesday to Friday to see people, to sit down with them. I might not always be able to suggest or advocate for perfect outcomes, but I have time to listen. If I can offer anything to make someone feel better, or the situation better, I will.”

Financial counsellors, he explains, do far more than give advice. They are continuously trained professionals, often with lived experience, who can respond at the level of the person they are assisting.

“For many, just being heard is so validating,” he says. “Ordinary people can do extraordinary things with someone ‘walking’ on the journey with them.”

Discovering a calling to care for others

Duong’s pathway to Moneycare was anything but typical. Growing up in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, he studied mechanical engineering and worked in both industry and academia before moving to Melbourne. Here, he completed two master’s degrees in accounting and commerce/information systems and built a career in business and accounting.

But despite his achievements, Duong felt something was missing. While managing a retail store, he began teaching short courses through a community college. After classes, people would stay behind to share their financial worries.

“I found some people in the community felt trapped when it came to debt. They often seemed to have no hope. They would talk about their difficulties, and I kept asking myself — is there any other service that could help people in their financial and debt struggles?”

That question led him to financial counselling.

“I read through the Financial Counselling Australia website and I said, ‘this is the one’. It was a lightbulb moment.”

After completing training as a financial counsellor, Duong was offered a role with Moneycare in 2019 — a position he remains passionate about to this day — using his skills to walk alongside community members and help them find hope.

More than debt — help for financial anxiety and worry

Financial stress doesn’t always look like overdue bills or debt notices, Duong explains. Sometimes it is fear of falling behind, worry about the rising cost of living, or financial anxiety about the future.

“People often tell us they’ve tried hard but just can’t get ahead, whether because of debts, low income, high cost of living or unexpected challenges,” he says. “When people come to see a financial counsellor, some don’t have debt but they are still so worried, so anxious that they might fall into crisis.

“I worked with a woman in her fifties who had memory and health issues. She approached several other financial counselling services who couldn’t assist because she wasn’t in debt, but she told me, ‘inside me, there is a crisis’.”

Working with service providers, Duong helped her create tailored plans with reminders and payments that she could ‘set and forget’, and reviews organised to update services as needed.

“When you are stressed about money, you can come to us at Moneycare regardless of your financial situation. We sit down, listen and develop a plan so people can regain their power and feel in control again,” Duong says.

Believe in good for yourself — take the first step toward clarity and confidence. Reach out to Moneycare today. Call Moneycare on 1800 722 363, chat with us online or read more about what we do.

Duong has held many roles — entrepreneur, engineer, trainer, business manager. None of them gave him the sense of purpose that financial counselling brings.

“Most financial counsellors bring with them many years of experience from fields like banking, finance, counselling or running their own businesses. What unites us is a desire to walk alongside people and help them find hope.”

For Duong, that is what gives the role its energy. “Even when I can’t solve everything, I can see hope in people’s eyes when they leave. That’s what makes me want to get up and go to work each day.”

He carries with him a favourite line from Ralph Waldo Emerson — “… to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

A note from a community member has stayed with him too — “Every time I walked past the Salvos building, I found myself standing there and wishing you well.”

Words like these are a reminder for Duong that Moneycare’s free financial counselling can be life-changing.

“Although we see some amazing outcomes,” he says, “people know at the end that someone listened to them. That’s so important. It can make all the difference.”

No matter what financial situation you are facing, there is a way forward. Call us on 1800 722 363, chat with us online, or view some of the free resources on our website.