The First Call to Action
The first thing you notice is the sound. It’s not chaotic, but constant, an undertone of purpose that runs through the National Debt Helpline (NDH) floor. Counsellors lean in, listening. The air carries a feeling that something meaningful is happening every minute.
Francom’s CEO, Georgina Antoun, stepped into this space ready to learn, ready to act, and to bring that learning back to our teams and the people we serve.
The Financial Rights Legal Centre is no ordinary organisation. As the NSW home of the NDH and operator of Mob Strong Debt Help – a dedicated service for First Nations people – it stands at the intersection of legal advocacy and financial counselling, ensuring that vulnerable consumers are not left to navigate complex systems alone.
Before the headset even went on, Georgina was presented with a case study for a Panthera Finance legacy debt that had a legal judgment now managed by Francom post-acquisition. This debt was born from financial abuse by a family member, where the victim/survivor refused to implicate the family member. Unable to repay the loan he knew nothing of, his apprentice wages were garnished. Immediately, Georgina was on the phone with Francom’s Legal Debt Recovery Operations Manager.
The case had already been handed to our Customer Care and Internal Dispute Resolution teams, flagged under Francom’s financial hardship and FDV protocols. Georgina explained to the NDH team that any mention of family/domestic violence or financial abuse triggers immediate review and that all staff are trained on how to help customers with vulnerabilities. The case may change hands, but at Francom we never lose sight of the person behind the debt.
Georgina turned to the NDH counsellors plainly stating, “We don’t charge interest or fees on any debts, unless mandated by a court. We don’t create default listings, and we consent to set aside judgement. Adding pressure to someone already struggling doesn’t help them. Francom is here to help, not harm.”
Her words landed with impact. For counsellors who often see the opposite approach, this was refreshing. Within minutes, Francom’s team was collaborating with NDH to support this customer. A real time example of advocacy in action, from the top of the organisation and all the way through, Francom’s commitment to working with our customers is unwavering.
Headsets On: Two Calls, Two Worlds
Then came the heart of the day, listening in on live calls. Each conversation peeled back layers of complexity that no spreadsheet could capture.
One caller wanted to know if his discharged bankruptcy would affect rental applications. A simple question, until the counsellor asked a few questions. Suddenly, the picture changed. He was homeless, living in a men’s refuge, juggling storage fees, insurance, and phone payments, while awaiting surgery for a genetic condition that prevents him from working.
The counsellor guided him toward housing lists and local support, texting resources during the call. She observed, softly, that if he had called before declaring bankruptcy, they could have helped him understand the long-term effects. The call ended, but not with an answer but with a plan and connections to support. Georgina said to the counsellor “if a customer in debt has to file for bankruptcy for immediate repreive, then everyone else has failed the customer.” At Francom, we do not initiate bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings as a means of debt recovery.
Another caller, who speaks English as a second language, revealed a different struggle. He had been unemployed for two months and was $10,000 behind in rent, paying an extra $50 a week under a catch-up agreement. The counsellor asked about bills, which reminded him of a letter from a utility company. Reading it aloud, he uncovered a payment deadline, due in two days. More questions unlocked the full picture, divorced, paying child support and a collections company chasing a mattress, purchased over 5 years ago, a basic living essential turned burden.
The advice focused on immediacy, time mattered. The counsellor prioritised securing a roof over the callers head first, then utilities. She outlined government payment assistance for utilities that he could be eligible for (only we would later find out that the government revoked energy rebates in 2026). The counsellor urged him to call his utility provider to enter a hardship payment plan that would allow him to keep the utilities on while paying off overdue amounts. A referral followed to a nearby financial counsellor which reminded him of a past counsellor who shared his language and cultural background, as his tone lifted. Trust changes what a person is willing to ask and absorb.
Across both calls, a single pattern emerged, people struggling to identify and prioritise costs without supportive guidance. Financial literacy is more than information, it’s navigation in a storm, and storms don’t pause for unpaid bills.
A System Level Conversation
The debrief didn’t dwell on anecdotes alone. The NDH team discussed pressure points across the system, places where a policy tweak can feel like grace. Georgina’s passion for reform and ethical practices was ignited during their conversation, touching on important topics in the financial world.
- Buy-backs in abuse cases without time restraint limitations from original credit or essential providers.
- All documents to be provided to debt buyers from debt sellers as a basic right.
- Radical transparency in debt management firms: Firms offering paid “managements” should plainly disclose that free help exists through financial counsellors and NDH.
- Raising default thresholds: the current $150 minimum for default listing is a trapdoor more than a safeguard.
- Debt to income ratio: lending beyond a person’s capacity is a fuse waiting to burn. Ratios should protect, not tempt.
- Centre Pay reforms: the newly tightened usage to essentials (e.g., school fees and utilities).
Francom’s membership in Thriving Communities’ One Stop One Story Hub landed strongly in the room. For people carrying multiple debts and complex histories, repeating their trauma across organisations compounds the harm. One secure story, captured once, shared appropriately – that’s how compassion scales.
The Day’s Lessons and Why They Matter
For Georgina, the day was both confirmation and challenge. Francom’s training is thorough by design. Staff don’t handle accounts alone until they can navigate hardship within our guidelines. Our protocols are built to protect vulnerability, not gloss over it. Our customer pathways include direct manager contact when a counsellor advocates on someone’s behalf.
Georgina carried something else out of the building, a sharper commitment to financial learning that people can use. In the calls, budgeting wasn’t the obstacle, awareness was. Knowing which bill keeps a roof overhead, which program prevents a utility shutoff, and when a letter matters more than a budgeting table, that’s survival knowledge.
To that end, Francom have been developing and sharing a free Financial Toolkit, designed to simplify complex topics and financial foundations. Francom have also created infographics to help in demystifying debt.
It’s easy to praise a helpline. It’s harder to match its pace. What stuck with us most was the counsellor’s craft: reading between words, building trust, and delivering steps that are big enough to matter, but small enough to start today.
A Clearer Path Forward
Walking out, the phones were still singing their steady tune, leaving with the sense that help is both a map and a mindset. The map is the structure, protocols, programs, pathways. The mindset is an insistence that behind every account is a person whose story deserves dignity.
Every conversation is a chance to change a life, and that chance is something we gladly carry into Francom’s work.