ANZ pledges $1.5m to community partners supporting Australia’s most vulnerable

The Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL), The Smith Family and the Financial Counselling Foundation will each receive $500,000 to support the financial wellbeing of vulnerable Australians. The organisations will use the funds for education, employment, aged care and financial counselling programs targeted at disadvantaged people further affected by COVID-19.

ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott said: “Many Australians who were already doing it tough before COVID-19 will need additional help to get through this crisis. Our charity partners are experts in their respective fields and are best placed to make sure these funds are distributed where they will make the biggest difference.”

Conny Lenneberg, Executive Director of BSL said: “Many people in our community are already experiencing financial difficulty and will certainly be hit much harder by the unfolding coronavirus crisis. We know that the most disadvantaged often bear the greatest burden, and this support from ANZ will allow us to respond more effectively to the greatest hardships.”

Dr Lisa O’Brien, CEO of The Smith Family said: “We want to make sure this crisis does not have a prolonged impact on the thousands of children in our schools and on the families we support. We expect there will be more families pushed into extremely difficult financial situations because of this global pandemic, and that many families will need our support for a long time to come.”

George Brouwer, Chair of the Financial Counselling Foundation said: “Financial Counsellors will continue to play a critical role alongside government, the community and financial institutions like ANZ to support those hit the hardest. We would encourage people facing hardship to seek assistance from financial counsellors by calling the National Debt Hotline on 1800 007 007.”

ANZ is encouraging employees to support its community partners during this time through its workplace giving program, where ANZ will double match employee donations.

ANZ customers seeking hardship assistance should visit anz.com.au/covid-19/