Free financial counselling for small business: the lines to ring and what happens when you do

Plenty of owners will pay an accountant, a lawyer and a lender before they will ring a free service. The hesitation is usually pride or a worry that calling means the business is finished. It doesn’t. Financial counsellors talk to owners with a bad quarter, owners with a lender problem and owners who simply want to check their thinking before they sign something.

This guide covers who the services are, what they do in a first call, what they can’t help with, and how to get the most from the conversation.

Who offers free help to small business owners?

There are three main doors, and they overlap.

Small Business Debt Helpline. A national service for small business owners and sole traders in financial difficulty. According to its website, counsellors give financial counselling on business and personal debts, including personal guarantees, help assess whether a business is viable, support in negotiating payment arrangements with the ATO, creditors and suppliers, information on closing a business, and emotional support. The number is 1800 413 828, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, and there is online chat for anyone who would rather not phone. It was set up in 2020 by Financial Counselling Australia and is independent of lenders.

National Debt Helpline. The long-running general service. Business.gov.au lists it at 1800 007 007, with phone counselling from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm on weekdays and live chat from 9 am to 8 pm. It is aimed at people with debt problems generally, so it suits sole traders whose business and personal money are tangled together.

Rural Financial Counselling Service. Free, independent counselling for farmers, fishers, foresters and related small businesses, delivered through regional providers across the country. Business.gov.au points owners to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry site to find a counsellor in their area. Our guide on how farmers manage seasonal finance covers the money side of the year.

Business.gov.au also lists a service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Mob Strong Debt Help, on 1800 808 488, offering free money-related legal advice.

What does a financial counsellor actually do?

A counsellor is a bit like a calm translator. They help you see the whole picture, put it on one page, and speak to creditors in a form creditors respond to.

In a typical first conversation you can expect:

• Questions about your position. What you owe, to whom, with what security, what is overdue and what is coming.
• A check on what’s urgent. Wages, tax and the creditors who can do real damage come first. Others can wait.
• Options, not instructions. A counsellor lays out choices such as a payment arrangement, a hardship request, a restructure or an orderly wind-down, and helps you weigh them.
• Help contacting creditors. Many will draft the summary or join the call, particularly with the ATO and with lenders.
• Referrals. Where you need a lawyer, a registered liquidator, a tax adviser or mental health support, they send you to the right place.

That last point matters. The helpline’s website says counsellors can’t advise on legal or health issues, and a state government page notes they generally don’t provide corporate insolvency advice either. They are not the end of the road; they are a good first stop on it.

When should you call?

Sooner than you want to. A sensible rule is to ring when any of these is true:

1. You are paying one creditor with money meant for another.
2. A lender conversation is coming and you’re unsure what to say. See how to ask a lender for hardship help.
3. An ATO bill has landed that you can’t pay on time. Our guide on talking to the ATO about a debt shows the sequence.
4. You’ve received a letter of demand or a statutory demand and the clock is running.
5. You’re considering a loan mainly to cover another loan. How to stop a debt spiral explains why that’s the moment to talk to someone first.
6. You can’t sleep. Money stress is a legitimate reason to call, and our piece on mental health and money stress for business owners is worth reading alongside this one.

How do you prepare for the call?

You don’t need perfect records. You need a rough, honest list. If you have 20 minutes beforehand, gather:

Item	Why it helps
A list of debts with amounts, lenders and due dates	Lets the counsellor see priorities at once
Your most recent BAS and any ATO statement or plan	The ATO is often the biggest creditor
Business bank statements for the last two to three months	Shows real cash in and out
Any letters of demand or notices	Deadlines drive the order of work
Loan documents or guarantees you have signed	Shows what is secured and what is personal
A rough monthly income and cost figure	Starts the conversation about what you can pay

If you don’t have some of these, ring anyway. A counsellor can tell you which to chase first.

It also helps to decide what you want out of the call. For instance, “to know whether I should keep trading” or “to work out what to offer my lender” is better than “to fix everything.”

What can’t free counselling do?

Being straight about limits is part of trusting the service.

• It won’t give you a legal opinion, so it can’t tell you whether a demand is defective or whether a guarantee is enforceable. A solicitor does that.
• It won’t tell you whether to appoint a restructuring practitioner or administrator, though it can explain the processes. For that, see small business restructuring explained and speak to a registered liquidator.
• It won’t loan you money, and it won’t recommend a particular lender or product.
• It can’t make creditors agree. A good summary improves your chances; it doesn’t guarantee them.

There are other free supports around, too. State and territory small business commissioners handle disputes and can guide you; see small business commissioners in each state.

What if the business can’t be saved?

Counsellors also help owners close down well, which is a skill. A planned wind-down that pays wages and taxes in the right order, tells creditors early and deals properly with guarantees usually leaves the owner in a much better position than an abrupt collapse. Our guide on closing a business with debts outlines the steps. A counsellor can help you decide whether you’re at that point, or whether a lender conversation, a plan with the ATO or a restructure could still turn it around.

Where does funding fit in?

A counsellor will usually help you decide what to do before you borrow, which is the right order (or ask us directly once you have). For some owners, the answer after that conversation is a loan: clearing a pressing creditor, consolidating dear short-term debt, or bridging a gap that is genuinely temporary. For others, borrowing would only make things worse. We would rather you have that conversation first.

If a counsellor’s advice leaves you wanting to see what funding looks like, enquiring takes about a minute and your credit file isn’t touched just for asking. We don’t hand your details to a crowd of lenders, so no wave of calls will follow. A real person reads your situation and rings you. Please fill the form in as accurately as you can, including anything a counsellor has already helped you set up, such as an ATO arrangement.

See what funding could look like for you →