The Financial Basics Foundation is a trusted independent charity that works with educators, students, finance professionals and others from around Australia to develop, produce and distribute financial literacy teaching resources free of charge to secondary schools.
Our Mission (What we do)
Enhance the financial capability of young Australians by providing quality independent financial education resources.
The Financial Basics Foundation works with educators, students, finance professionals, creative and online e-learning experts from around Australia to develop, produce and distribute financial literacy teaching resources free of charge to Australian secondary schools.
Launched in February 2002, the Financial Basics Foundation was created (and initially funded) by Collection House Limited. Rather than continuing to support a wide variety of charities, the Board of Collection House decided a more effective use of its charity dollars would be to invest in programs that educate young people to better understand credit issues and equip them with the skills to manage their finances effectively.
In the last decade, the Foundation has become one of Australia’s leading not-for-profit organisations delivering financial literacy initiatives to young people. We have gained support and endorsement from Government, educational authorities and the corporate sector.
How do I access FBF resources?
Financial Basics Foundation has a streamlined registration process so that all members can have easy access to the range of Financial Basics Foundation resources and products. Become a Member today.
If you are already a Member and wish to access the resources, log in here.
Membership
Our programs are teaching resources, specifically designed for use in Australian schools. Financial Basics Foundation provides these resources free of charge to teachers working in Australian secondary schools and some charities, not-for profit organisations and individuals that provide direct financial literacy education to young people.
We are not currently able to provide access to our resources to organisations, students and individuals that do not meet this criteria.
If you are a student in an Australian secondary school, or a parent of a student in an Australian secondary school, we encourage you to speak with the relevant teacher(s) and encourage them to register via our website in order to access our resources.
Donations
The Financial Basics Foundation and Financial Basics Community Foundation are charities, registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (www.acnc.gov.au)
For information about how to make a donation, please contact us directly on (03) 9610 4919 or email: info@financialbasics.org.au
Financial Basics Foundation (ABN 90 114 612 270) is an Australian Public Company, Limited by Guarantee, with a license to omit the word “limited” from its name. Financial Basics Foundation is a registered Charitable Institution.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Directors on the board of the Financial Basics Foundation provide their time and expertise on a voluntary basis.
Brigid Leishman - Chair
Brigid has over 30 years of executive and leadership experience in the financial services sector.
She now runs her own coaching and consulting business.
Brigid has lived and worked in four countries. She developed and led a multi award winning company in Fiji.
More recently, Brigid was the COO at CUA. Prior to leaving CUA to start her own business, she led the development of a strategic roadmap for robotics and AI.
Brigid is a New Zealander by birth and is now an Australian citizen. She has an MBA (Dist), is a GAICD and a member of the Australian Coaching Association.
Katrina Samios – Director and CEO
Katrina has been a consultant to Financial Basics Foundation since 2004 and was appointed as CEO and Director in 2011.
Katrina has worked in the youth sector for 20 years with experience in government and not-for-profit organisations. A strong advocate for young people, Katrina was involved in the deinstitutionalisation of disabled clients from residential institutions in Queensland.
Prior to commencing with the Financial Basics Foundation, Katrina was the State Manager of CanTeen Queensland (the organisation supporting young people living with cancer).
Kelly Evans CA - Director/Treasurer
Kelly is a Chartered Accountant with over fifteen years' experince in external audit and financial reporting and is currently the Financial Reporting Manager for an ASX-200 company.
Kelly was appointed as a member and Director of the Foundation on 28 September 2018.
Norm Hunter OAM - Director
Norm Hunter is the principal consultant of Thinkit Through, an educational consultancy with a particular focus on leadership, strategic thinking, mentoring and writing. He has a special interest in organisational and school culture, believing that it is the key to a successful system and school.
Norm has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland, and a Master of Education (Leadership and Management) from the University of Southern Queensland.
Norm was a founding Co-Principal, then Principal of Hillbrook Anglican School, serving for a period of 21 years. In 2010 Norm was awarded the ACEL Queensland Excellence in Educational Leadership Award.
Norm has been widely involved in education committees and other bodies at state and national levels, including Independent Schools Queensland's Education Committee. He served as a principal representative on the Queensland Anglican Schools Commission for several years, and chaired the Queensland Board of Secondary School Studies Social Sciences Syllabus Advisory Committee for six years.
Norm has authored a book – If We Build It They Will Come – which describes the ideas behind the founding of Hillbrook Anglican School, and the principles that underpinned it during his leadership.
He has led a research forum for the Strategic Research Division of the Queensland Education Department based on Schools Speaking for Themselves, and his recent work has included a review and a report for a Queensland independent school which has introduced a new learning management model.
Melissa Witheriff
Melissa is a non-executive director specialising in Organisational Strategy, Digital Innovation and Enterprise culture. She is currently a board member of the Service Innovation Alliance (SIA) Advisory Board for the University of Queensland.
She has more than 25 years of senior leadership experience across non-for-profit, government and corporate environments. Her experience spans sectors such as Finance, Insurance, Mobility (Transport and Road infrastructure), Public Works, ICT, Education and Retail. She is currently employed as the Head of Digital Innovation at CUA.
Melissa is a highly experienced digital innovator, transforming ideas from concept to commercialisation within corporate environments.
Tim Devine
Tim is a lawyer with over thirteen years' experience providing legal advice on corporate and commercial matters, both in private practice and in-house. He currently works as part of an in-house legal team for an ASX top 100 company.
Research
Exploring Opportunities in Financial Education in Australia (September 2019)
Financial education is needed now more than ever and with high quality, free curricula and professional development for teachers readily accessible through a number of providers – should personal financial education be a standalone compulsory unit in the Australian curriculum. Read full report here
Annual Reports
Annual Reports document our activities, achievements and financial performance for each financial year.
2018-2019 Annual Report
2017-2018 Annual Report
2016-2017 Annual Report
2015-2016 Annual Report
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“Takes a little effort to get it structured the way you want it but I love the way it looks. Fabulous looking theme and good support from developer. ”
“Takes a little effort to get it structured the way you want it but I love the way it looks.”