TEKVA
Referring someone to TEKVA
A one-page guide for your team · September 2026
What we do
TEKVA is a free charity service for working-age adults under financial pressure. We help with:
- financial counselling, with our FCAN-registered Financial Counsellor
- hardship arrangements on bills and debts
- getting back to work and income: career coaching and digital skills
Sometimes, as part of an agreed plan, we pay a specific cost straight to the provider. It's never automatic, so please don't tell the person to expect it.
Who it's for
- Adults of working age in financial hardship, on any income, including Centrelink.
- We meet people online or at our Sydney office, and currently support people in New South Wales.
- Not for emergency relief, crisis support or clinical care. If someone is at immediate risk, follow your usual crisis steps first.
- Not sure? Refer anyway. If we're not the right service, we'll say so and suggest who is.
How to refer (about four minutes)
- Check the person agrees to being referred to TEKVA and to sharing their information with us. A signed form (ours or yours), or their own email or text saying yes, is fine. Verbal agreement alone isn't enough.
- Go to tekva.org.au/refer, pick your organisation and fill in the form. You don't need an agreement with us.
- Attach the consent and any documents, or email them to referrals@tekva.org.au with your reference.
If there's a safety risk, say so in the form and we'll call you before we contact the person.
What happens next
- You get a reference and an email receipt straight away.
- We usually email the person first to arrange a time to talk.
- We let you know once we've spoken to them, and the outcome. If we can't help, we'll say why and who can.
You keep coordinating their wider support. If you're their financial counsellor, you stay their financial counsellor: we won't contact their creditors or advise on the same debts without agreeing it with you.
Contacts
Referrals and questions: referrals@tekva.org.au
Concerns about how we handled a referral: support@tekva.org.au
Consent form: tekva.org.au/consent-form.pdf