Financial Counsellor

Financial Counsellor 

• Supporting professional growth - supervision fee covered by Legal Aid 

• Salary ($97,027 - $107,059 pa pro rata) plus superannuation and leave loading 

• Ongoing role at Sydney and temporary role at Gosford up to December 2025 with possibility of extension or conversion to ongoing. 

• Full-time and Part-time opportunities 

About us 

Legal Aid NSW helps people with their legal problems. We can help people with most areas criminal law, family law and every day civil law legal issues. We give legal advice, help at court and do family dispute resolution. We can do this over the telephone or at one of our 28 offices. 

About the Domestic Violence Unit 

The Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) was established in 2015 and is a specialist family and domestic violence service at Legal Aid NSW. The DVU is a state-wide interdisciplinary team of lawyers, case workers, mental health workers and financial counsellors who work together to provide trauma informed services to clients by helping them with their legal and non-legal needs. The DVU provides advice, duty services, minor assistance, limited complex case work and community legal education in a range of locations.  

 
Last year, we supported nearly 8,000 clients. The DVU's excellence was recently recognised with a finalist nomination for the 2024 NSW Premier’s Award.  

Watch the video to discover the real impact you can have as part of the DVU team! 

About the role 

Are you passionate about making a difference in people's lives? As a Financial Counsellor, you will work in an interdisciplinary team to provide information, referral, advocacy and other financial counsellor services to clients of the Domestic Violence Unit and other female clients of Legal Aid NSW who are experiencing or have experienced family violence.  

The roles and locations: 

• Ongoing role at Sydney office (Haymarket)  

• Temporary role until December 2025 at Gosford office (potential for extension or conversion to ongoing)  

• Both offices are within a 10-minute walk from public transport 

What We Offer:  

• Collaborative environment  

• Professional growth opportunities  

• Contribution to law reform  

• Internal training and external supervision (fees covered)  

• Flexible work arrangements (office and home days)  

• Full-time and part-time roles available  

About you 

We seek dedicated team players eager to learn about domestic violence. Ideal candidates will have:  

• Relevant experience in the community sector, beyond just business or finance 

• Background in case management, especially with clients facing financial abuse or hardship  

• Excellent communication, negotiation, and advocacy skills  

• Resilience to manage client distress  

• Empathy to support clients with complex cases  

• Ability to self-manage, handle multiple tasks, and switch between client interactions and liaising with banks 

We may use this recruitment to create a talent pool for similar ongoing or temporary vacancies we have over the next 18 months. 

WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN LEGAL AID NSW! 

We are committed to diversity and inclusion 

We are committed to creating a culturally safe and genuinely inclusive organisation and workplace for everyone who works and interacts with us. We strive to be a place where people from diverse backgrounds want to work, where voices and cultures are valued and where people feel valued, welcomed, respected and heard.  

We want a workforce that reflects our clients, so we can deliver a service that meets the needs of the community. We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds — including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, the LGBTQI+ community, culturally diverse people and other diverse communities.   

We acknowledge, support and accommodate the diverse access needs of people with visible and invisible disabilities. If you need an adjustment to participate in the recruitment process, or you’d like information about what we can do to help you, please contact our team at erecruitment@legalaid.nsw.gov.au. 

Other benefits of working with us 

• You will have access to training, development and mentoring opportunities. 

• We are an accredited Flex Ready and Carers and Employers certified employer and are recognised as leaders in the area of flexible work. Most of our staff work flexibly — for example, from home some of the time or in a way that helps them balance family and work life. 

The essential requirements for this role 

You must: 

• be willing to do a Criminal Record Check and Working with Children Check 

• hold Australian or NZ citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency (for ongoing vacancies) or a valid visa to work in Australia (for temporary vacancies) 

• live in NSW or willing to relocate to NSW 

• have Diploma of Community Services (Financial Counselling) or the Diploma of Financial Counselling 

• have accreditation with Financial Counsellors’ Association of NSW INC (FACN) 

• have demonstrated relevant experience (minimum of 5 years) 

• have capacity and willingness to travel 

It is a statutory obligation for staff to hold a valid current Working With Children Check for this role. You will be required to provide your Working With Children Check details prior to commencement in this role. 

How to apply 

You MUST submit your application online. If you submit your application late or by email it will NOT be accepted.  

Your application must include: 

• your resume (no more than 5 pages) 

• cover letter (no more than 2 pages). In your cover letter, please address the below questions: 
   

Questions:

1. Please outline your experience and expertise in providing financial counselling services to vulnerable individuals. Include your knowledge of relevant resources and your communication strategies. If you have used any trauma-informed approaches, please elaborate on them. 
    

2. Please describe your experience collaborating with professionals from different fields to support vulnerable clients with complex needs. 
   a. What challenges did you face, and  
   b. how did you address them to enhance team collaboration and achieve better outcomes? 

Make sure your application is complete and you have answered all questions before you submit. 

Do you need help to apply?

It’s important to properly prepare before you apply for a role. Here is some other information to help you:  

• If you have questions about the role, you can contact the Hiring Manager Marina Wilkinson on  marina.wilkinson@legalaid.nsw.gov.au or 02 4337 6661 

• If you are an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and are thinking about applying, you can contact the Aboriginal Services Branch to arrange a confidential conversation about any questions you may have. 

• The Role Description sets out the responsibilities of the role. 

• The focus capabilities and key accountabilities in the role description indicate what is expected at that level. Being familiar with these will help you understand what the panel will be looking for in the successful candidate.   

• Applying for a Role 

• Working at Legal Aid NSW 

Closing Date: Monday 26th May 2025, 11.59pm