2 1. Presented by: 2. In partnership with: Authors: Jeremiah Thomas Brown and Jack Noone Suggested Citation: Brown, J.T., Noone, J.,.2021. Amplify Insights: Financial Wellbeing. Centre for Social Impact, UNSW Sydney. Website Amplify.csi.edu.au 3 3. Table of Contents 1. Executive summary .............................................................................................................. 5 2. The structure of this report .................................................................................................. 7 3. What is Financial Wellbeing? ................................................................................................ 9 4. Why Financial Wellbeing Matters ....................................................................................... 10 People ................................................................................................................................... 11 Pandemic............................................................................................................................... 12 Policy..................................................................................................................................... 13 Programs ............................................................................................................................... 15 5. What are the factors that are associated with Financial Wellbeing? .................................... 17 Using a Systems Thinking Approach ........................................................................................ 17 Micro-level factors ................................................................................................................. 20 Personal Context.................................................................................................................... 20 What is personal context? ............................................................................................................20 Personal context and financial wellbeing .....................................................................................21 Commentary on personal context ................................................................................................21 Financial Capability ................................................................................................................ 22 What is financial capability? .........................................................................................................22 Financial capability and financial wellbeing..................................................................................23 Commentary on financial capability .............................................................................................23 Meso-level factors ................................................................................................................. 25 Financial Inclusion .................................................................................................................. 25 What is financial inclusion?...........................................................................................................25 Financial inclusion and personal context ......................................................................................26 Financial inclusion and financial capability ...................................................................................26 Financial inclusion and financial wellbeing ...................................................................................27 Commentary on financial inclusion ..............................................................................................27 Financial Resilience ................................................................................................................ 28 What is financial resilience. ..........................................................................................................28 Financial resilience and financial capability, financial inclusion, personal factors .......................28 Commentary the financial resilience approach ............................................................................29 Organisations ........................................................................................................................ 29 Different approaches to improving financial wellbeing ...............................................................30 The Australian National Financial Capability Strategy ..................................................................31 FIAP approach to financial inclusion .............................................................................................32 NAB Assist financial support .........................................................................................................32 Supply versus demand approaches ..............................................................................................33 Macro-level ........................................................................................................................... 35 Social structures .................................................................................................................... 35 What are social structures? ..........................................................................................................35 Social structures and personal context .........................................................................................35 Social structures and financial inclusion .......................................................................................36 Social structures and financial capability ......................................................................................37 Social structures and financial wellbeing ......................................................................................37 Social structures and financial wellbeing outcomes for Indigenous Australians .........................38 4 Commentary on structures ...........................................................................................................40 Large-scale events, financial markets and other factors........................................................... 40 COVID-19 .......................................................................................................................................41 Global Financial Crisis....................................................................................................................42 Natural disasters ...........................................................................................................................43 Government policies .............................................................................................................. 43 What are policies?.........................................................................................................................43 Policies and financial wellbeing ....................................................................................................43 Policies and financial capability, financial inclusion, personal context ........................................44 Commentary on policies ...............................................................................................................45 A vignette to describe the complexity of factors that influences financial wellbeing ................ 46 Synthesis ............................................................................................................................... 47 Complexity and reciprocation .......................................................................................................50 The influence of meso- and macro-level factors on financial wellbeing depends on personal context. .........................................................................................................................................50 The mechanisms that link financial capability and inclusion with financial wellbeing ................51 6. Implications ....................................................................................................................... 52 Structure and agency ............................................................................................................. 52 Complexity and systems ......................................................................................................... 52 Meso-level responses ............................................................................................................. 53 Assumptions ..................................................................................................................................53 Should there be a greater focus on the macro level? ..................................................................53 The need to coordinate the sector. ..............................................................................................53 What is the role of the general public? ........................................................................................54 7. Next steps ......................................................................................................................... 55 8. Call to action. ..................................................................................................................... 56 9. Conclusion. .......................................................................................................................