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Financial literacy needed to bridge wealth gap
Australia has the fourth-largest divide between its richest and poorest regions across a study of 22 developed nations.
Financial literacy needed to bridge wealth gap
Australia has the fourth-largest divide between its richest and poorest regions across a study of 22 developed nations.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), this divide is leading to poorer economic outcomes which has a direct correlation with health outcomes, including higher infant mortality rates and lower life expectancy.
In conjunction with the IMF, research from the First Nations Foundation has also shown Australians – including Indigenous Australians – living in remote areas were most vulnerable to those poorer economic outcomes.
First Nations Foundation CEO Amanda Young has expressed her belief that the only way to bridge the gap is through financial education.
“Indigenous people have been unable to learn and pass down basic financial literacy because it has only been since the 1970s that Indigenous people have been given legal permission to receive an income or own property,” Ms Young explained.
First Nations Foundation’s research has shown that nine out of 10 Indigenous people do not have financial security, while three in four Indigenous Australians are excluded from access to financial services such as superannuation, insurance and financial advice.
This has led to one in two Indigenous Australians experiencing severe financial stress.
“Trust in, and understanding of, financial institutions is low among Indigenous Australians, but real change can be achieved.
“It’s not good enough to have a tick-and-flick list you operate from your financial organisation in the city, assuming you are somehow reaching your regional customers, because we can confirm, you are not,” Ms Young continued.
The research also found that three-quarters of Indigenous people have had some difficulty getting help from financial services in the last 12 months.
It noted that more than half (53.1 per cent) of respondents indicated low to moderate levels of access to economic resources.
A further one in three respondents scored very low access levels.
Overall, more than 70 per cent of Indigenous respondents displayed low or moderate levels of financial knowledge and behaviours.
Learn more of Financial Literacy here.
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