Room to grieve, room to heal: how financial counselling lifted the load

When life delivers a devastating blow, whether it's losing a partner or facing a serious illness, the bills don't stop arriving. Calls from creditors, overdue notices and mounting arrears can quickly become overwhelming, just when people have the least capacity to deal with them.

That's where the Financial Counselling Service team can have a life-changing impact. Our counsellors work directly with creditors on a client's behalf, negotiating hardship arrangements and debt waivers and taking the phone calls and paperwork off their plate. The service is free, confidential and independent. 

*Sarah and *David came to us at two of the hardest points in their lives. Here's how the FCS team took the weight off their shoulders. 

Rebuilding after loss

When *Sarah's partner died suddenly following a stroke in 2025, she became the sole parent of three school-aged children overnight - two of whom have additional learning needs. Managing grief while caring for her family left little room for anything else, let alone a growing pile of bills.

Sarah was already receiving income support, including a Carer Payment, and had engaged legal support to help access her late partner's superannuation and insurance entitlements. But that process takes time, and in the meantime, five separate debts - from bank and utilities to buy now, pay later accounts - were adding pressure to an already overwhelming situation.

When Sarah reached out to Financial Counselling NSW, her counsellor could see straight away that increasing her income wasn't realistic - her caring responsibilities left no room for paid work. So, the focus turned to steadying the household: working through a full Statement of Financial Position and reducing debt pressure, by requesting hardship and waiver support from each creditor.

With Sarah's authority to act on her behalf, her counsellor began negotiating directly, freeing her from the phone calls and paperwork that come with chasing waivers while also raising three children and managing an estate. Three debts were waived within weeks: two buy now, pay later accounts and a bank debt, together worth more than $3,600. Two more remain under negotiation.

For Sarah, the relief wasn't only financial. Every waiver secured is one less thing to think about - space to focus on her children and on getting her family's future sorted, rather than fielding calls from debt collectors.

Her financial counsellor continues to work through the remaining debts and will reassess her position once the superannuation and insurance claims are finalised, support that will be there for as long as Sarah needs it.

Focus on healing, not bills

At 58, living alone and facing a Stage 3 cancer diagnosis, *David's focus needed to be on treatment, not on fielding calls from creditors. But with his income now limited to the Disability Support Pension and no prospect of returning to work, three separate debts were mounting: a credit card, State Revenue fines, and energy arrears.

When David came to Financial Counselling NSW in February 2026, his counsellor could see the priority immediately: get creditor pressure off his plate so he could put his energy into getting well. A full assessment of his income, expenses, debts and options set the plan in motion, with David's authority allowing his counsellor to advocate directly with each creditor on his behalf.

The advocacy paid off. His bank agreed to waive his $6,500 credit card debt in full. State Debt Recovery waived his $4,829 in fines outright. And his energy retailer waived $249 of his arrears, set up a manageable $5-a-fortnight repayment plan, confirmed he was already on the lowest available energy plan, and flagged when he could apply for further bill assistance.

Over several months, David and his counsellor met fortnightly to review his budget and check in on how things were tracking, support that continued well beyond the initial round of negotiations. By the time his case closed in May, David said he was very satisfied with the outcome and relieved he no longer felt overwhelmed by how he'd manage financially.

His file closed with every immediate debt resolved and his essential services protected - proof of what timely, dedicated financial counselling can achieve when it matters most.

*Names have been changed to protect client confidentiality.