Profile: Rachna Madaan-Bowman, South East Community Links

Rachna is a financial counsellor based in Melbourne’s South Eastern suburbs, providing free, impartial information to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers (among others) about their rights and responsibilities. As the years have gone on, Rachna has become increasingly frustrated by the limitations of official materials and resources currently available to enable recently arrived migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to make sound financial decisions.

Rachna’s greatest concern is that most interactions with newly arrived individuals and communities do not inform them adequately about how Australian financial systems work and their consumer rights. As a result, many find Australian financial systems complex and confusing. This puts them in danger of signing contracts with little understanding of what these agreements mean and what the consequences are.

‘Currently, the onus is on the client to find a relative or friend to help them navigate the system. This removes their agency and also leaves them open to exploitation or abuse, particularly in the case of women and the elderly.’

‘If you are a bank employee and you are sitting with a client who doesn’t speak English, how do you know that the person translating is conveying what you are saying accurately and appropriately? How do you know that the client isn’t basing their decision on information that hasn’t been tainted by vested interest? How do you know that the person translating isn’t saying Sign this or I’ll kill you?’

Rachna’s project under the auspices of the Community Fellows Program is to interrogate the Easy English Guides which are the main mechanism though which banks and financial institutions inform clients who need additional assistance. These guides were originally developed to support clients with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, and are widely used with people who have low English literacy.

Rachna is looking forward to testing her hypothesis that communities are best placed to lead their own information delivery, supported by independent impartial experts. Rachna’s academic mentor is Jeannie Paterson, Professor of Law and expert in consumer protection and consumer credit law, data privacy, and the regulation of emerging technologies.

‘Information about financial rights and the workings of the credit and banking systems in Australia is crucial for new arrivals,’ affirms Professor Paterson. ‘Information works best when tailored to the needs and circumstances of the recipient. Rachna’s experience and passion place her in the ideal position to interrogate how migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who come from a non Englishspeaking background use the Easy English Guides and other supposedly accessible information. This is a significant project with considerable social impact made possible only through the Community Fellows Program.'