Financial Empowerment and Resilience Network (FERN)
Addressing the gap between financial emergency and comfort
The Financial Empowerment and Resilience Network (FERN) is an online program providing financial capability education, support and referrals for people wanting to increase their financial wellbeing and resilience. FERN activities are made up of interactive online workshops and coaching conversations.
FERN is distinctive in that, despite its focus on working with people on low incomes, it has no eligibility restrictions. Because of this, it addresses the gap between support for those in urgent financial crisis who may meet eligibility criteria for emergency support and those in a position to seek financial planning advice.
The FERN model is made up of three core elements:
- Financial capability education workshops.
- One-on-one financial capability coaching with introductions to relevant services
- Living Costs : An online tool that helps you build financial capabilities and connects you to supports.
This model is informed by:
- the Capability Approach (Sen 2001)
- BSL’s financial wellbeing framework
- MoneyMinded, flexible adult financial education resources developed by ANZ and others.
In surveys from December 2022 and April 2023, participants in the program reported having changed their behaviour around money, having started a budget, having changed their spending habits and feeling more confident understanding their bank statements.
An evaluation of the ongoing FERN model is currently being undertaken. This will focus on the financial capability needs of those living or caring for someone with a disability. The FERN evaluation will be released in late 2025.