The free help that already exists — and who to call for what

We've written about most of these services individually. The problem with that is you have to already know a service's name to go looking for its article — which shuts out exactly the person who needs it, the one who has a problem and no idea who deals with it.

So this is the map: problem on the left, who to ring on the right. Every phone number below was checked against the service's own published source in August 2026, and none has been guessed. Services do change their numbers and their scope, so confirm with the organisation before you rely on anything here. This article is general information only, not personal, tax or legal advice.

What are the two reasons people don't call, and why are both wrong?

The first is "that'll be for people worse off than me." Most of these services are not means-tested. The clearest case is the Financial Information Service, where Services Australia's own instruction is that if you get a payment from them you call your usual Centrelink number, and if you don't get a payment from them you call the Centrelink Older Australians line and say "Financial Information Service" when asked why you're calling (Services Australia, https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-to-contact-financial-information-service, as at August 2026). Receiving a payment is not the entry condition. I've watched people with a paid-off house and a healthy super balance rule themselves out of things they're perfectly entitled to use, out of a sort of misplaced decency. Assume you're eligible until somebody tells you otherwise.

The second is "free advice means someone's selling something." These are the opposite of that, and it's worth being specific about why. The Financial Information Service is "a free service that can inform and educate you about financial matters" run by a government agency, and it sells nothing (Services Australia, https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/what-financial-information-service). Financial counsellors are not financial advisers and cannot sell you anything at all. Ombudsman schemes exist to make decisions against firms. The absence of a product is the entire design.

There's a third failure too, quieter than the other two: people ring the wrong number. A complex strategic question gets asked on a general enquiries line, sits in a queue, receives a reasonable call-centre answer to a question that needed a specialist — and the person concludes there's no help available. Matching your problem to the right service is most of what this article is for.

What is the map?

"I don't understand how a decision would affect my pension." The Financial Information Service is free, independent, run by Services Australia, and sells nothing. FIS officers explain how the rules apply to a situation, which is exactly the gap most people are stuck in, and depending on your circumstances the officer may book you a face-to-face interview by video or at a service centre (Services Australia). Call the Centrelink Older Australians line on 132 300, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm, and say "Financial Information Service." It is comfortably the most under-used service in this whole landscape. Our article on the Centrelink Financial Information Service explains what to expect and how to book.

"I disagree with a Centrelink decision." Ask for an explanation first, then apply for a formal review, which is carried out by an Authorised Review Officer — "an independent officer authorised to review decisions" — and, as Services Australia puts it, "you don't have to pay for a formal review" (https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/explanations-and-formal-reviews-centrelink-decision). If that goes against you the next rung is the Administrative Review Tribunal, and there is no application fee for a first review of a Centrelink decision (https://www.art.gov.au/applying-review/centrelink). Note the name: the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was replaced by the ART in October 2024, so older material and older leaflets will send you looking for a body that no longer exists. Each rung has a time limit. Our article on appealing Centrelink decisions sets out the ladder.

"I owe Centrelink money and can't repay it." Services Australia for a payment arrangement, and a financial counsellor for the whole picture rather than just that one debt. Our articles on Centrelink debts and overpayments and on financial counselling cover both.

"I can't pay my bills." A financial counsellor — free, confidential, independent, and importantly not a financial adviser. They deal with debt, hardship and creditors, and they do it for nothing. The National Debt Helpline is the national free line on 1800 007 007 (https://ndh.org.au/). Our articles on financial counselling for retirees and on no-interest loans and hardship help set out what's available.

"My bank, insurer, super fund or adviser has treated me badly." Complain to the firm first — they get a defined period to respond — then take it to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, which describes itself as "a free, fair and independent" service for resolving complaints about financial firms and is funded by the firms rather than by you (https://www.afca.org.au/about-afca). It is designed for people without a lawyer. AFCA's free-call number is 1800 931 678, 9am to 5pm AEST/AEDT on weekdays (https://www.afca.org.au/make-a-complaint). Our article on financial disputes and AFCA explains how it works.

"I need help navigating aged care." My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 for the system itself (https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/preparing-your-assessment), and free aged care advocacy for someone in your corner — including sitting with you during an assessment. The Older Persons Advocacy Network runs the national line on 1800 700 600, Monday to Friday 8am–8pm and Saturday 10am–4pm, with an interpreter available (https://opan.org.au/get-support/). That matters most if you don't have family nearby. Our articles on preparing for an aged care assessment and on aged care decisions without family cover both.

"Someone is pressuring me about my money." The national elder abuse line, 1800ELDERHelp on 1800 353 374, is free and confidential and connects you to the service in your area for information, support and referrals — and it is used to the hardest version of this, where the person applying the pressure is family. Be aware of one limit: the elder abuse phone lines "are not crisis support services" and their hours vary by location; in an emergency call Triple Zero (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, https://www.health.gov.au/contacts/elder-abuse-phone-line, as at August 2026). Our article on financial abuse of older clients covers the signs and the options.

"I've been scammed." Your bank first, immediately — tell them to stop any transactions, because speed matters more than anything else. Then IDCARE, the national identity and cyber support service, which will help you make a plan for free on 1800 595 160, and a report to Scamwatch, run by the National Anti-Scam Centre (Cyber.gov.au, https://www.cyber.gov.au/report-and-recover/recover-from/scams; Scamwatch, https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam). Our articles on scams targeting older Australians and on recovering after a scam set out the sequence.

"I'm worried about my memory and my money." Your GP first, then the protective steps that are much easier to put in place early than late. Our article on cognitive decline and financial protection covers them.

"I need legal help and can't afford a lawyer." Legal Aid and community legal centres, plus specialist services for insurance and social security matters. This is the one entry where eligibility genuinely is tested: it varies between states and territories and is often tighter than people expect, so check what's available where you live — but check, rather than assuming you'd fail.

"I'm not coping." Services Australia has social workers, and this is the entry people are least likely to know exists. They are degree-qualified, they provide short-term counselling, information and referrals, and the service is provided at no cost to you (https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/social-work-services). You can ask to speak to one on your regular payment line, or call the Multilingual Phone Service on 131 202 and ask (https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-to-contact-social-work-services). What you tell a social worker or an interpreter is confidential. National crisis lines also operate around the clock — Lifeline on 13 11 14 — and Services Australia sets out the mental health supports it can connect you to (https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/social-work-services-for-your-mental-health).

If English isn't your first language, interpreters are available free through Services Australia — say so and one will be arranged (https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-to-contact-social-work-services). And if you're helping a parent, most of these services will talk to you with their consent.

What can free services not do?

Worth being straight about the boundary, so you don't spend three phone calls discovering it.

Free services inform. They generally don't give you a personal recommendation, and they can't be held to one. The Financial Information Service will explain how a rule works; it won't tell you what to do with your particular portfolio. A financial counsellor is excellent on debt and hardship and doesn't do retirement strategy. An ombudsman resolves a dispute; it doesn't plan anything.

So the division is roughly: free services for understanding, entitlements, disputes and hardship. Paid advice for personal strategy — and if that's what you need, our article on how to choose a financial adviser sets out how to go about it.

That's not a nudge in either direction. Plenty of people need nothing more than a good FIS appointment, and it would be a poor article that pretended otherwise.

What do the worked examples show?

Two illustrations of the wrong-number problem, which is what actually stops people getting help. Both are illustrative only and not personal advice.

Consider Margaret, 72, a self-funded retiree with about $680,000 in super and a paid-off home, who receives no Centrelink payment at all. She wants to understand how drawing down harder over the next five years would interact with the Age Pension she expects to qualify for later. She assumes the Financial Information Service is for pensioners and doesn't call. In fact Services Australia's own instruction covers her case directly: if you don't get a payment, you call the Older Australians line on 132 300 and ask for the Financial Information Service (Services Australia). On these facts, making that call before paying for anything is generally rational — not because paid advice would be wrong for her, but because a free FIS appointment answers the "how do the rules work" half of her question, and she can then decide whether she needs the strategy half at all.

Now consider Tom, 68, a part-pensioner whose insurer has knocked back a claim and whose payment has just been reduced after a reassessment he thinks is wrong. He rings the general Centrelink enquiries line about both, gets a reasonable call-centre answer to neither, and concludes nobody can help. The two problems belong to two different systems: the pension decision goes to an explanation and then a free formal review by an Authorised Review Officer, with the Administrative Review Tribunal above that and no fee for a first review (Services Australia; Administrative Review Tribunal), while the insurance claim goes to the insurer's internal complaints team first and then to AFCA on 1800 931 678, free (AFCA). On these facts, splitting one problem into two correctly-addressed calls is generally rational, and it is the single most common failure this article exists to prevent — both paths carry time limits, so the cost of the wasted call is not just the call.

What should you do before you pick up the phone?

Call early, because several of these paths have deadlines and the ones that have closed cannot be reopened; our article on what's reversible in retirement covers how much time you're likely to have. Write down who you spoke to and when, since it matters more than you'd think if the matter goes further. Ask what a word means the moment one goes past you — our article on the words that cost you money covers the usual suspects. And assume you're eligible until somebody tells you you're not.

None of this is charity. You've paid for these services through your taxes and through levies on the industries that run them. Using them is the point.

Sources

• Services Australia — What the Financial Information Service is
• Services Australia — How to contact the Financial Information Service
• Services Australia — Explanations and formal reviews of a Centrelink decision
• Administrative Review Tribunal — Applying for review: Centrelink
• Services Australia — Social work services
• Services Australia — How to contact social work services
• Services Australia — Social work services for your mental health
• National Debt Helpline — Free financial counselling
• Australian Financial Complaints Authority — Make a complaint
• Australian Financial Complaints Authority — Contact us
• Department of Health, Disability and Ageing — Elder abuse phone line
• Older Persons Advocacy Network — Get support
• My Aged Care — Preparing for your assessment
• Scamwatch — Report a scam
• Cyber.gov.au — Report and recover from scams