Lutheran Care is expanding its services to offer No Interest Loans (NILs) to help get people through a financial rough patch without falling into a debt trap, in partnership with Good Shepherd.
Lutheran Care is delighted to be working with Good Shepherd to deliver NILs in both the Northern Territory and South Australia. Lutheran Care is one of just three community service providers offering NILs in the Northern Territory, with the team based in Mparntwe – Alice Springs delivering the service locally in Alice Springs and to 28 remote Aboriginal communities.
Lutheran Care’s Financial Wellbeing team in Tanunda, South Australia, is also now delivering NILs, and the program will soon be launching in the Adelaide suburb of Blair Athol, with it scheduled to go live before the end of the year. Further expansion includes Lutheran Care exploring service opportunities in the Adelaide Hills.
NILs allow eligible people to borrow up to $2000 for essentials such as appliances, furniture, car repairs or registration, phones, laptops, or medical, dental or vet expenses. Up to $3,000 can be borrowed through NILs for housing-related expenses such as bond, rent in advance or recovery from a natural disaster. There are no fees or charges, so the client is only required to pay back what they borrow, nothing more. No money changes hands with NILs – an invoice for the payment is submitted with an application, and NILs pays it straight to the supplier or vendor.
Lutheran Care Executive Manager Families and Community Services, Susan Richards, is excited to announce the partnership with Good Shepherd and to be the newest provider of this valuable service for vulnerable and low-income people.
“NILs is already proving to be an invaluable support for our clients who need urgent help to pay for something that has cropped up in their lives that hasn’t been budgeted for,” she says.
“NILs is a safe way to borrow money if you need to cover an unforeseen but necessary expense, for example, if your washing machine breaks down, or you have to pay for a medical bill.
“Many of the clients we support in central and South Australia are being stung by Buy Now Pay Later and Afterpay schemes.
“These may seem like a good idea in the beginning, but often the client ends up paying well over the value of the original loan when you take into account all the extra fees and charges.
“NILs fits well into our suite of Financial Wellbeing services and we are very pleased to be able to assist our clients with applying for their NILs loans.”
Lutheran Care’s team of Financial Counsellors and Financial Capability Workers offer Financial Wellbeing services in central and South Australia. These services include Emergency Relief, and 1:1 and group support to help people overcome financial barriers and build their confidence and capability with all areas of budgeting and money management.
Good Shepherd currently works with around 170 community service providers offering NILs across Australia. Good Shepherd is a not-for-profit that has been operating in Australia for 160 years. It is focused on social justice and wellbeing for women, girls and families.
For more information or to book in to discuss NILs, email nils@lutherancare.org.au or call our Financial Wellbeing team on (08) 7070 6717 (South Australia) or (08) 8953 5160 (Northern Territory).
For information about Good Shepherd, visit goodshep.org.au