Centrelink Financial Information Service

Centrelink Financial Information Service

by Christine Hopper

The Centrelink Financial Information Service provides information about Centrelink benefits to customers and potential customers.
Generic Financial Information is provided in Centrelink booklets and at Centrelink Financial Information Service seminars.

You can ask specific questions by telephoning the Centrelink Financial Information Service and speaking with an officer. In some circumstances, you could meet with a Centrelink Financial Information Service to discuss your position.

Centrelink Financial Information Service Seminars

The Centrelink Financial Information Service offers free seminars on topics of interest. These seminars are usually in the early evenings at suburban and regional venues. There is no charge to attend but you must book in advance to ensure that you get a seat at your preferred Centrelink Financial Information Service seminar. You may book for the whole series of seminars or just the one seminar that interests you.

Popular seminar series include: ‘Investing for retirement’, ‘Getting ready for retirement’ and ‘Living in retirement’. You can see the list of upcoming seminars and book your preferred seminars in Victoria on the Centrelink website 

Centrelink Financial Information Service Publications

The Centrelink Financial Information Service publishes general information booklets about planning for retirement. These booklets are available at the Centrelink Financial Information Service seminars.

Centrelink prefer that you do your own research on the Centrelink website rather than call the Financial Information Service.

Centrelink Financial Information Service Telephone Enquiry line 13 23 00

The Centrelink Financial Information Service operates a telephone enquiry service.

You can call the Centrelink Financial Information Service on 13 23 00. You need to say, “Financial Information” when the machine asks what you are calling about. You must have a Centrelink CRN ready to enter into the telephone system. Beware you could be on hold for a few hours on 132300 and then get cut off because you did not enter a valid CRN.

The Centrelink Financial Information Service provides information only. The staff at the Centrelink Financial Information Service are not licensed to provide ‘financial advice’.

For example, a FIS officer could tell you how your Disability Support Pension would be impacted if you received a lump sum inheritance of $100,000 and saved it all in your bank account.
However the FIS officer is not permitted to give personal financial advice. The FIS officer could not suggest that you use part of your inheritance to pay off your debts and/or make a large non-concessional contribution to your superannuation account.
The Centrelink Financial Information Service might suggest that you obtain personal financial advice about investing at least part of your inheritance.

Personal Social Security Advice for when the Financial Information Service is not enough

The Centrelink Financial Information Service can tell you about the Centrelink rules from the Centrelink viewpoint. But your challenge might be about how to get the best overall benefit from a one-off lump sum inheritance or retrenchment payment.

You would need personal advice if you cannot see what to do about your financial position when you have considered the information collected from the Centrelink Financial Information Service.

Financial Care Services is an independent advisory practice that charges fees based on the time and work involved in advising you. Financial Care Services does not base its fees on how much money you have. At Financial Care Services, we care about the individual clients and their needs for independent advice about their personal situations.

At Financial Care Services advice is private and confidential

Financial Care Services respects your privacy. As part of your Age Pension assessment at Financial Care Services, you might disclose very personal and private information about sensitive health and family matters. We are careful not to disclose this sensitive private information to your wider family members or outsiders. You can read the Privacy Policy for Financial Care Services here.

Your discussions with the Centrelink Financial Information Service are confidential. The Centrelink Financial Information Service will not disclose your enquiry.

But please remember that Centrelink customers must inform Centrelink whenever their financial or personal situation changes.
You have just two weeks to tell Centrelink about that money you inherited. You also need to promptly disclose any changes in your ‘Personal Circumstances’ that means keeping Centrelink updated about the arrival, or departure, of your partner.

To make an appointment for confidential, independent and professional advice about aged care costs, retirement lifestyle or Age Pension issues please contact Christine Hopper 03 9808 0338.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this website is of a general nature only and does not constitute “financial advice”. . © 2014 Financial Care Services Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.

To make an appointment for professional advice, call Financial Care Services 03 9808 0338

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