Consumers’ Federation of Australia is delighted to congratulate long-standing CFA member and former Deputy Chair Fiona Guthrie on being awarded Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order for Australia. Fiona was honoured for significant service to the community through social welfare and financial counselling.
Fiona is the current CEO of Financial Counselling Australia, a role she has held since 2009. Financial Counselling Australia is a full member of CFA. In this role, Fiona has been a champion for financial counsellors and has served to raise their profile, not only with Governments but importantly with key creditors like banks, utility companies and debt collectors.
Fiona was an executive committee member of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) from 1996 until 2006, and again between 2011 and 12. Fiona also served as Deputy Chair for the period between 1996 and 1999, and again during the early 2000s.
During Fiona’s tenure, her efforts focused on ensuring the views of the CFA and its members were considered by government decision-makers, including the Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council and the consumer protection officers in the Department of Treasury. Fiona also authored many submissions on behalf of the CFA, furthering the consumer interest in areas as diverse as financial services, telecommunications, and tenancy. Consumer advocates today are indebted to these efforts, which set a benchmark for consumer input into policy and legislative processes.
Fiona was also involved in building CFA’s website, a key tool to connect its members and to promote the voice of consumer advocacy. She also supported and mentored many other consumer advocates, and continues to do so today.
We congratulate Fiona on this significant achievement and look forward to continuing to work with her on advancing consumer rights.