FPA Pro Bono Service

How you can support victims of the bushfires and floods

Our thoughts are with the local communities who have been devastated by the recent Queensland and Northern NSW floods, and the bushfires that wreaked havoc throughout Tasmania, Victoria and NSW. Many of our members and their businesses have been affected and we extend our sympathies to those members and to their families and clients.

The FPA Pro Bono Service has been established to connect people affected by these crisis situations with a local financial planner.

To show our support for victims of the recent disasters we are calling upon CFP^® professionals and Financial Planner AFP^® members to volunteer to provide pro bono financial advice as part of their wider community responsibility as professional financial planners. To join the program and be available to assist people affected, please complete the registration form.

The FPA will be promoting the Pro Bono Service and encouraging people affected by the disasters who want financial advice to call the FPA to be referred to an FPA member who has registered to provide pro bono advice.

It’s important to the FPA and our members to be able to support disaster victims and the best way for us to do this is by providing free, professional advice to help people get back on their feet when many are struggling to cope with the loss of homes, personal possessions and probably their financial records.

Victims affected by the fires and floods wishing to seek advice regarding their current financial situation are being encouraged to call 1300 626 393 or complete the application form to arrange to speak with a financial planner free of charge and begin to rebuild their lives and financial strength.

About the FPA Pro Bono Service

The FPA Pro Bono Service aims to provide a sound framework within which professional financial planners can give assistance to Australians who are financially disadvantaged and who would otherwise not be able to afford financial advice, and to non-profit organisations that work on behalf of those who are marginalised or living in difficult circumstances within our society.

The FPA Pro Bono Service acts as a central hub, providing a link between financial planners and opportunities to provide pro bono advice. 

Through this Service, the FPA seeks to facilitate the provision of pro bono financial advice that will enable people to more effectively manage change in their personal and working lives, to take control of their financial circumstances and to plan for long term self-reliance.

Eligibility of financial planners for the FPA Pro Bono Service

To participate in the FPA Pro Bono Service, FPA members must:

• Hold the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® designation, Financial Planner AFP^® designation or have enrolled in the CFP^® Certification Program;
• Have completed the registration form to be added to the FPA Pro Bono Program; and
• Have their form countersigned by their licensee.

Once the FPA has confirmed they are registered as a pro bono financial planner, they must provide pro bono advice in accordance with the following conditions:

• The financial advice will be provided at no cost to the client
• The planner will fulfil all the regulatory and professional requirements of providing personal financial advice, as defined under the Financial Services Reform Act and the Corporations Act, and by the FPA’s Code of Professional Practice
• Pro bono advice will be given with the same degree of competency, expertise and professionalism and to the same high standard as any other work undertaken for a fee paying client
• The planner will refrain from using the pro bono role in any way to promote their financial planning business

For full details on the FPA Pro Bono Service, please read the
Guidelines for providing pro bono advice.

Download the registration form to participate.

Read coverage of the FPA Pro Bono Service in:

Money Management

Wealth Professional

Financial Standard

Fraser Coast Chronicle

IFA

Adviser Voice

Information for victims seeking pro bono advice is available here.